20 February, 2025The Tongyeong Branch of Changwon District Court in South Korea has convicted 28 subcontracted shipbuilding workers at Hanwha Ocean of "obstruction of business" following their 51-day strike in 2022, part of their struggle for union recognition.
The local chair of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU) Geoje, Tongyeong and Goseong Shipbuilding Subcontracted Workers' Local, Kim Hyoung-su, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined KRW 1 million (US$670). The union’s former vice-chair, Yoo Choi-Ahn, received a two-year prison sentence, while the local general secretary, Lee-Kim Chun-Taek, was sentenced to one year in prison.
An additional nine union activists were also sentenced to prison terms, while the remaining 17 workers received financial penalties.
The judge granted a stay of execution for all prison sentences, citing the public interest nature of the strike.
In the summer of 2022, the Geoje, Tongyeong and Goseong Shipbuilding Subcontractors’ Local staged a strike at Dock 1 of the Okpo shipyard. The workers demanded collective bargaining with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) to reverse a unilateral 30 per cent wage cut, improve health and safety conditions, guarantee trade union rights and address what they viewed as exploitative multi-tier subcontracting arrangements at the shipyard.
DSME, later acquired by Hanwha Group and rebranded as Hanwha Ocean in 2023, justified the wage cuts by citing the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The striking workers faced intimidation from both the company and the government. DSME refused collective bargaining and instead mobilized its HR department employees, subcontractors and white-collar staff to attack the striking workers. The Yoon Suk Yeol administration escalated tensions by considering a raid on the strike, deploying commandos and special forces to conduct suppression exercises near the iron cage protest, with helicopters flying overhead.
Despite the strike ending, the company sued the union and its leaders for US$37 million in alleged damages for missed production targets.
In October 2023, IndustriALL and ITUC, together with civil society organizations, gathered in Geneva to support Korean civil society. They raised concerns over the repression of freedom of association by the Korean government during the UN Human Rights Committee’s examination of Korea’s adherence to its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The president of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), Jang Chang-year, condemned the court ruling, stating:
“Attempts to imprison our union members and impose astronomical damages claims on them simply for demanding fair treatment and human dignity are clear evidence that the system is fundamentally broken. Hanwha Ocean must withdraw its civil suit, and the judiciary must deliver a not-guilty verdict in the appellate trial.”
IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie said:
“IndustriALL expected a fair verdict that fully respected workers' rights to freedom of association, including the unrestricted right to strike and collective bargaining. This expectation stems from the Republic of Korea’s commitment to protecting the civil and political rights of its workers and citizens and its ratification of ILO conventions 87 and 98. This did not happen so Korea still has a long way to go. In the meantime these verdicts have to be reversed.”
Photos: 1-3 2022 strike, 4 in front of court, 19 February 2025. Credit KMWU