On the 19th, the 48th day following the subcontractor workers of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) went on strike to obtain the right to strike under the union law and demand improvement of poor treatment, the tone of the morning newspaper was divided into three parts. It is a newspaper that conveyed the government’s position without criticism to the pressure of President Yoon Seok-yeol and related ministries from all directions, a newspaper that corrected the facts of the claim omitting the responsibilities of subcontractors and subcontractors, and rather a newspaper that encouraged the government to use the police.
President Yoon Seok-yeol said, “The illegal situation in industrial sites must be put to an end,” said President Yoon Seok-yeol, during a luncheon meeting with Prime Minister Han Deok-soo at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul on the 18th during a strike by the metallurgical union in Geoje Tongyeong Goseong. . In the name of the five ministries including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the government issued a joint statement warning that “the people have been patiently waiting for the union to come to the table for dialogue,” and warned that “there is no escape from criminal punishment and liability for damages.” People’s Power floor leader Kwon Seong-dong criticized the strike as “an act of terrorism once morest the local economy.”
The workers in the subcontracting branch of the Korea Metal Workers’ Union have been on strike since the 2nd of last month, demanding that 30% of their wages be restored to their original state during the recession in the shipbuilding industry six years ago. Daewoo Shipbuilding’s subcontractor workers have not risen since the Joseon recession in 2016 caused 70,000 layoffs and a 30% wage cut. The wage of a high-skilled welding worker with 20 years of experience is the minimum wage. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) achieved results that exceeded 40% of its target order intake last year, and is now exceeding last year’s performance this year. Daewoo Shipbuilding is 55% owned by Korea Development Bank.
On the morning of the 19th, all newspapers published related articles on the front page. The newspapers explained that the government was implying a tough response policy, such as the possibility of using the police. The Hankook Ilbo simply conveyed the positions of President Yoon Seok-yeol and the five ministers on the front page and said, “The reason the president, the government, and the ruling party directly hit the subcontractor union strike at the same time is to gain public support and secure legitimacy before injecting park power. “He said. The Kookmin Ilbo also conveyed the government’s position on the first page and repeatedly emphasized the damage caused by the strike on the second page. The Kookmin Ilbo said, “The discussion is not making progress, but it is said that the labor and management of the subcontractor are willing to resolve the situation.”
The Hankyoreh said, ‘The government has shifted responsibility for non-communication… The union corrected the government’s announcement that ‘the workers were already having a conversation’ in the ‘Daewoo Shipbuilding Woncheong refusal’.
The Hankyoreh said, “The government claims that the subcontractors of the Joseon dynasty are not responding to dialogue and are continuing occupier sieges.” Four-party negotiations were taking place even at 11 a.m., when the ministers of five ministries held a meeting,” he said. Kim Hyung-soo, chairman of the Chosun subcontracting branch, also said, “We have never refused to negotiate.”
The Kyunghyang Shinmun pointed out on the first and second pages that President Yun branded the strike of Daewoo Shipbuilding as ‘illegal’, and interpreted that the passports were trying to stop the strike in an attempt to change the phase of declining approval ratings.
He said that the joint statement of the ministers of five related ministries contained 13 expressions of illegal occupation, such as “illegal occupation,” “illegal act,” “outdated violence, illegal method of struggle,” and “obvious illegality,” which included expressions that stipulate that union actions were illegal 13 times. We entered into a new phase and started to change the situation.” The Kyunghyang Shinmun said, “The direction of the Yun Seok-yeol administration’s labor policy, which has put pro-business policies at the forefront, will be revealed through the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine incident.”
Other newspapers have called the government’s position “a ultimatum” and have urged the police to be dispatched. The Seoul newspaper said in an editorial, “It is unreasonable for the union to ask for a 30% increase in wages compared to when the economy was good. It would be unreasonable to leave the subcontractor as the counterparty in the contract and tell Daewoo Shipbuilding and Development Bank, the principal contractor, to take responsibility.”
It is also difficult to deny that the low-wage sacrifices of subcontractor workers were the reason that the shipbuilding industry was able to get through the long tunnel of recession. I have to go into it,” he said.
The Chosun Ilbo titled the article at the top of the front page, ‘President Yoon, the instructions of the emergency ministerial meeting, and the chief of the National Police Agency on a helicopter ride to Geoje’. It is a title that contributes to the workers’ strike while creating an urgent atmosphere. The Chosun Ilbo asserts, “There are voices within the government that not only criminal responsibility for the union members who led the illegal strike but also the civil liability for damages suffered by Daewoo Shipbuilding until the end,” while direct and indirect quotations supporting this claim Did not do it.
The Chosun Ilbo reported on the front page that “the decrease in sales (due to the strike) will already be 500 billion won” on the front page, but the wages of subcontractors of Daewoo Shipbuilding were cut by 30% in 2016 due to the shipbuilding recession, so the minimum wage so far. The level was not mentioned. However, on the third page, the article was titled ‘Guaranteed time-off in addition to union wage increase and demanded re-employment of unemployed union members’.
Meanwhile, the Hankyoreh directly pointed out the Chosun Ilbo’s related reports in its editorial on the same day. On the 18th, ‘the labor union subcontract strike on the 47th… This is an article regarding ‘closed business in tears’ at 7 partner companies of Daewoo Shipbuilding. The Hankyoreh said, “Before the government and ruling parties hit strikers, the Chosun Ilbo made a special report on the day that subcontractors were ‘closing their business in tears’. It was announced or the four major insurance premiums were delayed for a long time,” he pointed out.
The Hankyoreh continued, “Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the main contractor, is responsible for the financial difficulties of subcontractors. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) was fined a whopping 15.3 billion won by the Fair Trade Commission for paying subcontractors lower than the manufacturing cost through all sorts of expedient methods from 2015 to 2019. Rather, it is an active intervention, and furthermore, it is to come up with a fundamental alternative that can revive the shipbuilding ecosystem.”
The JoongAng Ilbo interprets the government’s position as a ‘warning’ with a front page headline and then ‘Remember Ssangyong Motor’ in an editorial. The JoongAng Ilbo said, “Even the subcontractor union of Daewoo Shipbuilding will not be aware of the outcome of the long struggle of the Ssangyong Motor union.
The Ssangyong Motor incident refers to the case in which the police violently suppressed workers who occupied the Pyeongtaek factory for 76 days on strike in 2009 in response to mass layoffs. The police mobilized helicopters and cranes to carry out the suppression operation, and a scene was witnessed of beating a disarmed worker with a club and a shield. Immediately following the suppression, the police filed a claim for damages of 1.7 billion won to the workers of Ssangyong Motor. This means that the JoongAng Ilbo issued a ‘warning’ to the workers by referring to an incident that is considered a representative case of police violence.
