LABOR ACTIVIST CONTINUES PROTEST

[Anchor Lead]

Labor activist Kim Jin-suk finished her 34-day trek in protest of her dismissal from Hanjin Heavy Industries in front of Cheong Wa Dae yesterday. She was laid off 36 years ago and has been fighting for her reinstatement ever since. She started the 400-kilometer march from Busan although she suffers from cancer. Other citizens joined her in the march in support of her cause, but her former employer still refuses to give her old job back.

[Pkg]

Kim Jin-suk, in faded blue coveralls arrives at the water fountain in front of Cheong Wa Dae. She embraces other activists who staged a hunger strike for more than 40 days in support of her reinstatement. She started a 400-kilometer march from Busan on December 30th. The journey which lasted around 30 days was especially challenging as she is battling cancer.

[Soundbite] Kim Jin-suk(Laid off from Hanjin Heavy Industries) : "When the three of us first started the march, I never imagined that so many people would join us."

Kim was laid off in 1986 for engaging in labor union activities at Hanjin Heavy Industries. On top of a tower crane, she continued to fight for workers’ rights in protest of Hanjin’s massive layoffs since 2011.

[Soundbite] Kim Jin-suk(Laid off from Hanjin Heavy Industries (2011)) : "We were desperate for food and other items in the blocked and confined crane. We cried all day when we had no food."

The Committee on the Honor Restoration and Compensation to Persons Related to Democratization recommended her reinstatement twice, but Hanjin Heavy Industries refused each time. The latest march reignited talks with the employer but it broke down again. The employer insists on “Rehiring” instead of “Reinstatement” and providing“Consolation money” from company executives instead of “Severance pay.”

[Soundbite] Kim Jin-suk(Laid off from Hanjin Heavy Industries) : "Rehiring means the company won’t take responsibility for reinstatement. I cannot accept their consolation money since it is charity, not my rightful wage or severance pay."

If she had been reinstated, she would have retired last year.