A 40-year-old shipyard worker threatened with redundancy and angry at the abrupt cancellation of a strike yesterday soaked his work clothes with petrol, set himself ablaze and jumped to his death from a ship docked at a Daewoo Heavy Industries shipyard in the South Korean island of Koje.
Thus did Mr Choi Dae-lim became a symbol of the deep frustration among industrial workers in South Korea at finding themselves unable to resist the forces which could bring millions of lay-offs in the coming months.
The shipyard worker was protesting at the last-minute decision of his trade union federation to call off plans for a general strike timed to begin yesterday afternoon, apparently because many workers had no stomach for industrial confrontation because of the perilous state of the nation's economy.
In choosing a fiery death to highlight this major setback for militant trade unionism in South Korea, Mr Choi was modelling himself on one of the icons of the union movement, a young textile worker who set himself on fire in 1970 and reportedly screamed: "Don't let my death be useless," as he died in flames.
Earlier Mr Choi had written an open letter to the local Daewoo Union calling on his comrades to support the strike against a proposed labour reform law that would make lay-offs easier.
"Let's join in the general struggle of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)," he appealed. "When millions of workers follow the instruction of the KCTU, then the lay-off attempts can be blocked. If the labour reform law is passed, just imagine how much businesses will harass workers."
It is hard to underestimate the magnitude of the proposed change in the mind of South Korean workers. The bill challenges a culture of full employment. Up to now no employee could be laid off by law, leading to the widespread expectancy in South Korea of a job for life.
At the same time there are practically no welfare benefits to cushion the blow for the unemployed, and the absence of a safety net makes the lot of the laid-off worker more desperate than in European countries.
The hard-line KCTU had called the strike to protest an agreement reached by representatives of business, government and labour that would for the first time legalise mass lay-offs in mergers and acquisitions and let companies hire temporary workers.
A year ago it brought workers and students out in mass demonstrations in a successful and violent struggle against a similar proposal being rammed through parliament.
The strikes ended after a month when outgoing President Kim Young-sam's government agreed to postpone implementation of the law. But after a night of evidently bitter internal debate on Thursday, the KCTU cancelled the general strike call yesterday morning, saying it did not want to endanger the country's recovery from a crippling debt and foreign exchange crisis.
"We decided to withdraw the strike, given its impact on our economy," the KCTU said in a statement, while reaffirming its opposition to the agreement, especially as it "makes lay-offs possible in mergers and acquisitions and introduces temporary workers".
Another factor in the decision of unions to pull back from the brink was the fact that the incoming president, who will be inaugurated on February 25th, is their long-time champion and veteran democracy campaigner, Mr Kim Dae-jung. Many trade unionists would clearly be uneasy about embarking on a major confrontation with President-elect Kim, whose acceptance of harsh reform measures to save the economy help make them more palatable to rank-and-file workers.
But by going to the brink and pulling back, the federation's negotiating position has been weakened as it tries to force big business to absorb more punishment.
Internal splits are also emerging. The labour union at the nearly bankrupt Asia Motors Co Ltd said yesterday it had decided not to oppose the new deal.
The Asia Motors union becomes the first member union of the KCTU to face the inevitable. The huge company has applied for court receivership along with sister firm Kia Motors Corporation and is to be merged or acquired by a third party under a government rescue plan which will entail mass lay-offs.
The collapse of union opposition means that the conservative Grand National Party, which lost December's presidential election but has a majority in parliament, will be emboldened to step up its opposition to pro-union clauses in the agreement. These include the right of teachers to organise and directly engage in political activities for the first time.
The history of the labour movement in South Korea is one of acquiescence under military rule followed by violent confrontations when democracy arrived in 1987. In that year, 30,000 Hyundai workers in Ulsan using bulldozers and cranes fought pitched battles with riot police. Two years later, a three-month strike at the Hyundai shipyard only ended when 10,000 troops staged an amphibious assault.
There is yet a prospect of serious labour unrest in the days ahead. "We are still adamantly opposed to the lay-off agreement and we continue to demand renegotiation," said Mr Chung Sunghee, a senior KCTU official. "We will fight through other means such as massive rallies to oppose lay-offs."
The tripartite agreement at the centre of the current crisis is a critical element of the reform programme being implemented by South Korea in return for the International Monetary Fund's $58.35 billion rescue package in December. South Korea's financial markets, which had slumped on fears of labour unrest, rebounded yesterday, rising more than 3 per cent at the opening after three consecutive days of losses. The won also opened higher against the dollar. To investors, implementation of the agreement is a key barometer of Seoul's commitment to reform.