142 National Assembly Members Say "Compensation for Ssangyong Motor Workers Should Be Withdrawn... 2.8 Billion Won Is Just Harassment"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] A total of 142 members of the National Assembly have submitted a petition to the Supreme Court to resolve the compensation issue arising from the 2009 Ssangyong Motor incident. All members of the Justice Party, along with members from the Democratic Party of Korea, the Basic Income Party, and independents, participated.

They stated, "The state and the company have filed lawsuits demanding tens of billions of won in damages and provisional seizures, causing suffering to many workers and their families over the past decade. The Ssangyong Motor compensation lawsuit, which has led to the deaths of thirty workers and their families, must be withdrawn. In this spirit, 142 members of the National Assembly, representing the people of the Republic of Korea, are jointly petitioning the Supreme Court to make a careful judgment on the Ssangyong Motor compensation lawsuit that aligns with the common sense of the people."

They pointed out that under the Moon Jae-in administration, on August 28, 2018, the Police Human Rights Violation Investigation Committee officially confirmed that the government was responsible for state violence in the suppression of the Ssangyong Motor sit-in protest. Following the committee's recommendations, in 2019, the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency officially apologized to the Ssangyong Motor workers and their families, among the victims. The National Human Rights Commission also submitted an opinion to the Supreme Court in 2019 regarding the 'State's compensation claim lawsuit against the Ssangyong Motor union, etc.' with the same intent.

The lawmakers emphasized, "As of August 12, 2021, the amount of damages that Ssangyong Motor workers must repay has reached 2.8 billion won, and the interest continues to increase. Given that the state itself has acknowledged that it exercised 'violence' against the Ssangyong Motor workers, continuing the lawsuit against the defendants is nothing but harassment."

They further explained, "The petition does not concern the personal damages for which the police resisted and even held one-person protests. We did not appeal the High Court's ruling on 'personal damages,' that is, the medical expenses and consolation money for individual police officers. The compensation lawsuit we are petitioning today solely pertains to material damages such as helicopter and crane damages."

They added, "In the Republic of Korea, where freedom of assembly and labor rights are guaranteed by the Constitution, using public authority to block the exercise of citizens' rights and claiming those costs as damages can effectively suppress the exercise of fundamental rights, which is a matter of concern."

The following are the members of the National Assembly who participated in the petition.

Kang Deuk-gu, Kang Min-jung, Kang Byung-won, Kang Seon-woo, Kang Eun-mi, Kang Jun-hyun, Kang Hoon-sik, Ko Min-jung, Ko Young-in, Ko Yong-jin,

Kwon In-sook, Ki Dong-min, Kim Kyung-man, Kim Kyung-hyeop, Kim Gyo-heung, Kim Nam-guk, Kim Min-seok, Kim Sang-hee, Kim Sung-joo, Kim Sung-hwan,

Kim Soo-heung, Kim Seung-nam, Kim Seung-won, Kim Young-bae, Kim Young-joo, Kim Yong-min, Kim Won-i, Kim Yoon-duk, Kim Ui-gyeom, Kim Jeong-ho,

Kim Jong-min, Kim Joo-young, Kim Jin-pyo, Kim Cheol-min, Kim Tae-nyeon, Kim Han-jung, Kim Hong-gul, Kim Hoe-jae, Nam In-soon, Noh Woong-rae,

Ryu Ho-jeong, Maeng Sung-kyu, Min Byung-duk, Min Hyung-bae, Min Hong-chul, Park Jeong, Park Kwang-on, Park Sang-hyuk, Park Young-soon, Park Joo-min,

Park Chan-dae, Park Hong-geun, Bae Jin-gyo, Baek Hye-ryun, Seo Dong-yong, Seo Sam-seok, Seo Young-kyo, Seo Young-seok, Seol Hoon, So Byung-chul,

So Byung-hoon, Song Gap-seok, Song Ki-heon, Song Ok-joo, Song Jae-ho, Shin Dong-geun, Shin Young-dae, Shin Jeong-hoon, Shin Hyun-young, Sim Sang-jung,

Ahn Min-seok, Ahn Ho-young, Yang Kyung-sook, Yang Ki-dae, Yang Yi-won-young, Oh Ki-hyung, Oh Young-hwan, Yong Hye-in, Woo Sang-ho, Woo Won-shik,

Wi Seong-gon, Yoo Jeong-ju, Yoon Gun-young, Yoon Kwan-seok, Yoon Mi-hyang, Yoon Young-duk, Yoon Young-chan, Yoon Jae-gap, Yoon Hu-deok, Lee Gae-ho,

Lee Kwang-jae, Lee Kyu-min, Lee Dong-joo, Lee Sang-min, Lee Sung-man, Lee So-young, Lee Su-jin-bi, Lee Yong-bin, Lee Yong-seon, Lee Yong-woo,

Lee Won-taek, Lee Eun-joo, Lee Jang-seop, Lee Jae-jung, Lee Jeong-moon, Lee Tan-hee, Lee Hak-young, Lee Hae-sik, Lee Hyung-seok, In Jae-geun,

Lim Oh-kyung, Lim Jong-seong, Lim Ho-seon, Jang Kyung-tae, Jang Cheol-min, Jang Hye-young, Jeon Yong-gi, Jeon Jae-soo, Jeon Hye-sook, Jeong Seong-ho,

Jeong Jeong-sun, Jeong Cheong-rae, Jeong Chun-sook, Jeong Tae-ho, Jeong Pil-mo, Jo Oh-seop, Jo Jeong-sik, Jin Sun-mi, Jin Seong-jun, Cheon Jun-ho,

Choi Kang-wook, Choi Jong-yoon, Choi Hye-young, Han Jun-ho, Heo Young, Heo Jong-sik, Hong Ki-won, Hong Seong-guk, Hong Young-pyo, Hong Ik-pyo,

Hong Jeong-min, Hwang Un-ha, members of the National Assembly

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.