HiteJinro Headquarters Occupied for Ten Days... Police Notify Cargo Solidarity Union Members to Appear

Defendant Status... Company Files Additional Compensation Lawsuits Against 14 People

The Cargo Solidarity of the Public Transport Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held a rally on the 18th in front of the Hite Jinro headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, demanding the withdrawal of mass layoffs and damage compensation lawsuits by Hite Jinro. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Members of the Cargo Solidarity Union, part of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union (KPTU), who have been occupying the HiteJinro headquarters in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul for ten days, have been summoned by the police.

According to the police on the 25th, the Gangnam Police Station recently notified some Cargo Solidarity Union members to appear at the police station as accused persons. The specific schedule for their appearance has not been determined. HiteJinro filed a complaint on the 17th of this month against the Cargo Solidarity Union members occupying the headquarters for obstruction of business and refusal to vacate, and conducted a complainant investigation the following day.

It was also confirmed that the company filed an additional damages lawsuit against 14 Cargo Solidarity Union members on the 29th of last month. A HiteJinro official explained, "In addition to the 11 defendants in the existing lawsuit, we secured the personal information of 14 new individuals and filed a lawsuit," adding, "We plan to request parallel trials from the court."

As a result, the total number of defendants in the damages lawsuit filed by the company has increased to 25.

The company previously filed a damages lawsuit worth approximately 2.77 billion KRW against 11 union members in June, citing losses due to decreased factory shipments caused by the Cargo Solidarity strike.

In response, the Cargo Solidarity Union strongly opposed the company's successive legal actions. The union stated, "Since the additional lawsuit has a separate case number, it can be seen as a total claim of 5.5 billion KRW in damages," criticizing, "We are concerned that the suffering of the workers will be passed on to their families."

The company rebutted, stating that the lawsuit amounts are not combined and that claims are made against all 25 individuals separately. In a statement released that day, HiteJinro said, "The damages amount of 2.77 billion KRW is claimed from 25 people, but the amounts from the two lawsuits are not combined," and explained, "Since we could not add 14 new individuals to the existing lawsuit defendants, we filed a separate lawsuit claiming the same damages against the new 14 individuals."

They added, "Suyang Logistics and our company proposed seven personnel for contract termination to the Cargo Solidarity Union yesterday," noting, "This is about half of the 12 personnel previously proposed."

Cargo Solidarity Union members have been staging a sit-in at the HiteJinro headquarters since the 16th, demanding the withdrawal of the damages lawsuit and provisional seizure, reinstatement of dismissed workers, and realistic transportation fees.