SOUTH KOREA: THOUSANDS OF SOUTH KOREAN WORKERS HURL FIRE BOMBS AT RIOT POLICE AFTER A PROTEST RALLY AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT'S LAYOFFS

Record ID: 358910

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: THOUSANDS OF SOUTH KOREAN WORKERS HURL FIRE BOMBS AT RIOT POLICE AFTER A PROTEST RALLY AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT'S LAYOFFS
  • Date: 31st March 2001
  • Summary: (W5) SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (MARCH 31, 2001) (REUTERS) 1. LV PROTESTERS HURLING FIREBOMBS (NIGHT SHOTS); SCUFFLES BETWEEN POLICE AND PROTESTERS (9 SHOTS) 1.20 (W5) SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (MARCH 31, 2001) (REUTERS)(DAY SHOTS) 2. SV/SLV/TV PROTESTERS THROWING ROCKS AND SAND AT POLICE; POLICE CHASING PROTESTERS; INJURED PROTESTERS; POLICE TAKING PRO
  • Embargoed: 15th April 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
  • Country: South Korea
  • Reuters ID: LVA5UFZ9K76YC7QMSUCN1WNNAB5W
  • Story Text: Thousands of South Korean workers hurled fire bombs at
    riot police after a protest rally against the government's
    layoffs.



    Thousands of South Korean students and labourers
    clashed with riot police in front of Seoul's university on
    Saturday (March 31), after a protest rally over the
    government's restructuring plans and layoffs.

    More than ten thousand protesters hurled hundreds of fire
    bombs, while police tried to protect themselves with shields.

    Before the fire bombing, the protesters challenged the
    police with fists and pieces of rocks, while police fought
    back with shields and clubs.

    Seoul's weekend evening traffic was jammed, and at least
    four protesters and police were injured.

    Earlier at a protest rally, the workers demanded the
    government stop laying off workers and planning to sell the
    public companies to foreign buyers.

    The protesters chanted various anti-government slogans,
    waving fists. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU),
    the country's militant umbrella labour group, has blamed on
    the government's corporate restructuring drive.

    "The labourers' rage against Kim Dae-jung government's
    restructuring plan centred on layoffs is blazing fiercely. The
    rage now became the phase to demand the Kim government's
    resignation," said KCTU spokesman.

    They also chanted anti-U.S. slogans, criticising the U.S.

    government to sell weapons by force, and claiming the ongoing
    peace process between North and South Korea to be pursued
    without interference by U.S.

    The protesters later burned down drawings of South Korean
    President Kim Dae-jung and U.S. President George Bush.

    The KCTU's 650,000 members include the union of bankrupt
    automaker Daewoo Motor, which last month laid off more than
    1,700 workers, sparking widespread demonstrations.

    President Kim Dae-jung's administration has resisted using
    tear gas to quell riots but labour demonstrations have grown
    more violent in recent months, putting the policy to the test.


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register