RALLYING on the fourth day of South Korea's largest labour protest ever, some 20,000 workers vowed yesterday to fight President Kim Young sam's government, saying it threatened their jobs.
"Down with Kim Young sam, disband the New Korea Party," the workers shouted as they marched past Mr Kim's ruling party headquarters after a rally at Yoido Plaza near the centre of the capital, Seoul.
Ruling party legislators passed a new labour law last Thursday in a secretive pre dawn parliamentary session with no opposition members present. The opposition had previously been vocal in its attacks on the proposed new laws.
Labour unions immediately called a nationwide strike, saying the law lopsidedly favours businesses by giving them more power to lay off workers.
About 373,000 workers have since joined the strike at some 700 work sites, union leaders said. The nation's automobile and ship building industries were hit hardest.
At yesterday's rally, union leaders vowed to continue the protests until the end of January. "Fight until death!" workers shouted as loudspeakers blared labour songs. Hundreds of red, blue and yellow anti government banners fluttered over the plaza in the wintry air.
A brief scuffle erupted as workers tried to push into the party headquarters, but no serious violence or arrests were reported. Protesters were allowed to march past the building.
Government officials have said they will keep the new law, which they said was designed to help the nation's economy.
South Korea has sought labour reforms as its economy slowed rapidly. This year, the country is expected to register a record $20 billion trade deficit, twice that of last year.
The new law makes it easier for businesses to lay off employees en masse, something unheard of in South Korea. Businesses also can cut work hours more easily and thus reduce workers income, union leaders said.
Businesses welcomed the flexibility to restructure to help compete in world markets.
The government had hoped to placate workers by granting greater rights to unionise, but workers are angry that the new freedoms will not take effect for several years.
Unionised subway workers in the southern city of Pusan yesterday joined their colleagues in Seoul, who had walked off their jobs a day earlier, forcing trains to run late. Non union workers were called in to help.
Hyundai and three other major car manufacturers, Kia, Sangyong and Asia, stood idle for the fourth consecutive day, but other key industries, such as semi conductors and electronics, as well as rail roads and other utilities, have remained largely unaffected.