Gwangju City Council Members Urge Government to Take Measures on Wage Arrears and Other Issues in Daewoo Winia Incident

On the 23rd, members of the Gwangju Metropolitan Council held an emergency resolution rally in response to the commencement of corporate rehabilitation procedures for Daewoo Winia Group affiliates, urging the National Assembly and the government to devise countermeasures.

The Gwangju City Council, in a proposal issued under the names of all council members, demanded strict punishment for Daewoo Winia Group, which is pushing local companies and workers into an extreme crisis, and called for measures to overcome the regional economic crisis.

The proposal stated, "With the corporate rehabilitation procedures initiated for Daewoo Winia Group affiliates, the current unpaid wages and retirement benefits amount to approximately 70 billion KRW, and it is estimated that about 820 workers at just two workplaces, Winia Electronics and Winia Electronics MF, are facing an extreme livelihood crisis," adding, "Considering the chain bankruptcy of about 180 local partner companies in Gwangju, the destructive impact on the regional economy exceeds what local governments can handle."

It also pointed out suspicions that the top management of Daewoo Winia Group, instead of devising countermeasures, purchased a high-priced building in New York and has been preparing for court receivership by changing the governance structure since early this year.

The council members emphasized, "Illegal activities across the entire group must be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate punishments must be enforced accordingly," and stressed, "Chairman Park Young-woo of Daewoo Winia Group has caused public outrage by shifting the responsibility for management failure onto workers and partner companies, failing to present any concrete plans for corporate rehabilitation or resolving the situation, and not even attending the National Assembly audit sessions."

Council member Park Su-gi, who proposed the resolution, said, "This was proposed to urge the central government to implement effective emergency measures for workers and local partner companies driven into livelihood crises due to the Daewoo Winia Group incident," and added, "Special emergency relief measures must be urgently prepared for those facing livelihood crises, including actively utilizing the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s ‘Employment Crisis Area Support System’ for regions where employment conditions are expected to deteriorate rapidly, to provide urgent support to local employers, workers, and retirees."

Chae Eun-ji, Chairperson of the Gwangju City Council’s New Labor Special Committee, stated, "Considering that more than 820 direct workers are in an extreme situation due to over eight months of unpaid wages, multifaceted crisis response measures, such as special financial support from financial institutions, must be devised."

Meanwhile, this proposal is scheduled to be adopted at the 6th plenary session of the 320th meeting on the 24th.

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