04/26(Fri) 19:50
Protests Against Hynix Sales Escalate
Unionized workers at Hynix Semiconductor kicked off a demonstration to desist the planned sale of the chipmaker to Micron Technology of the United States and began collecting resignation letters from more than 5,000 union members on Friday.
Union officials said the resignations would be submitted to the firm immediately after the sales deal is confirmed. Executives of the Hynix union also said that the union will kick off a general strike action at this time.
The Hynix union's actions have also been backed up by the nation's umbrella union. Chair Lee Nam-soon of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), one of the two umbrella unions in the nation, said the same day that the FKTU will launch a campaign against the Hynix sale by collecting signatures from the general public.
Meanwhile, about 3,000 union members of Hynix, residents of Icheon city, Gyeonggi Province and officials of business and public organizations in the city joined in a rally protesting the sales deal. They claimed that the chipmaker, which has 13,000 workers and 2,500 suppliers of 150,000 workers on its payroll, is on the verge of being "stolen." Participants also staged a march along the streets.
(Moon Gap-shik, gsmoon at chosun.com)