Labor Union Face Flexibly Sales of Daewoo Motor

The executives of the Daewoo Motor changed their position about the sales of the Daewoo Motor from a `desperate opposition` to the `flexible stance toward the negotiation process`.

The executives sealed the conflict within the labor union by appointing the former chairman of the labor union, who has participated in the `committee for the normalization` to support the sales of the Daewoo Motor, to the advisor the labor union.

According to the Daewoo Motor, Kim Il-Seop, the chairman of the labor union, told in the `urgent statement` sent to union members saying that ``we do not need to waste our energy quarrelling with each other within the labor union about the sales of the Daewoo Motor. The labor union will establish the multilateral measures by collecting the opinion of the union members and the executives, monitoring the progress of the negotiation process``. ``Such urgent matters as the retaining of the Bupyong plant, the guarantee of the employment of the labor union members, the issue of the lay-off workers, and the normalization of the labor union have been ignored, caught up in a power struggle within the labor union,`` added chairman Kim.

The labor union appointed Lee Eun-Koo, the former chairman (11th, 15th) who has been active in the `committee for the normalization`, as the labor union advisor. The Daewoo`s labor union is expecting to take a realistic attitude toward the General Motors` takeover of the Daewoo Motor, and to demand to retain the Bupyong plant and the succession of the employees after the sales.

The committee for the normalization and the 7000 Daewoo Motor workers held the rally to demand the GM`s package purchase of the domestic auto plants including the Bupyong plant, and the succession of the employees.

An official of the labor union commented that `` the result of the sales is hard to anticipate due to the various external variables. Therefore, the labor union will take a soft-line measure toward the sales of the Daewoo Motor, watching the negotiation process``.

Meanwhile, the second negotiation with the GM on the sales of the Daewoo Motor will resume during this week in Hong Kong. An official of the negotiation team told that ``we have kept in contact with the GM after the first negotiation. At the second negotiation, the concrete contents will be discussed on the basis of the result of the first negotiation``.

daviskim@donga.com