Automakers urge immediate end to strike at parts maker

(ATTN: UPDATES with police investigation in the last three paras)
SEOUL, May 24 (Yonhap) -- A lobby for South Korea's automakers urged workers at an auto parts maker Tuesday to immediately end their crippling strike, saying a prolonged work stoppage could threaten the operations of all five local automakers and their 5,000 suppliers of other parts here.
Troubles at Yoosung Enterprise Co., specializing in piston rings, cylinder liners and other components of car engines, began Wednesday when its unionized workers occupied its main plant in Asan, 90 kilometers southwest of Seoul, following 11 rounds of failed wage negotiations.
"We urge the labor union of Yoosung Enterprise to immediately end its illegal occupation of plants, considering its negative impact on the auto industry and the country's economy," the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) said in a statement.
"The labor-management issue at Yoosung Enterprise is not a problem that concerns only the company. It is a problem that concerns 5,000 auto parts makers, 270,000 workers and their families in the auto industry and 1.7 million people who work in related fields and their families," it said.
Because a car is made up of more than 20,000 parts, disruption in supply of any single part will inevitably lead to the halt of operations of 5,000 other parts makers that supply products to automakers here, KAMA said.
The strike by some 500 Yoosung Enterprise employees is causing massive damage to the five local automakers, including industry leader Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp., as the company supplies some 70 percent of all engine parts needed by the carmakers.
The automakers, also including GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Co. and Ssangyong Motor Co., have already been forced to shut down assembly lines of some 30 vehicle models, according to KAMA.
KAMA said the automakers and their suppliers could lose up to 5 trillion won (US$4.57 billion) if the interruption to production due to what it called an illegal strike at Yoosung Enterprise continues until the end of June.
The association further warned the country's automobile output could be cut by as many as 280,000 units, over 70 percent of the country's monthly output, if the strike at Yoosung Enterprise lasts till the end of next month.
The five automakers here produced a combined total of 381,959 cars last month, a record volume for the month of April.
With concerns mounting over a prolonged strike, police said they secured warrants to arrest two union leaders and raid their offices to look into possible charges against those involved in the strike.
Police also reinforced riot troops around the company's plant in Asan in an apparent move to forcibly remove the striking workers.
"Although the management closed the factory, the union leaders mobilized union members to illegally occupy the factory and barred other employees from entering their offices," an official at Asan Police Station said. "Although they went through some procedures, blocking office workers from entering the company and occupying the assembly line fall under acts of obstruction of business."
ejkim@yna.co.kr