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Well, it tooks weeks until the S.K. bourgeois press reported about the hunger strike and sit-in protest of Kiryung Electronics union activists, but finally at least Korea Times today did it (likely only because of the latest dramatic development?!):

70 Days of Hunger Strike for 'Survival'

Sixty-seven days into a hunger strike in a shoddy tent pitched atop a guardhouse

at the gate of her company, Kim So-yeon, 39, the union leader of Kiryung

Electronics, was transferred to a hospital Saturday. Even lying on a hospital bed in

northern Seoul, she refuses to stop her fast, which hit 70 days Wednesday.

Kim So-yeon, right, union leader of Kiryung Electronics, and another union

member Yoo Heung-hee, sit on top of a guardhouse at the gate of the company

during their hunger strike in northern Seoul. After 67 days of the fast demanding

stable employment for temporary workers, they were taken to hospital, Saturday

Another union member Yoo Heung-hee was also hospitalized on the same day.

Their struggle has become a rallying cry for numerous temporary or contract

laborers to gain permanent status at work. Kim and Yoo went to the hospital only

after other laborers and civic groups members persuaded them to do so amid

worries over their deteriorating health due to the hunger strikes.

After receiving basic medical treatment, however, Kim now continues her fast at

the hospital. She says she is continuing it only to survive.

"The issue of temporary workers is not only about employment but also human

rights,'' Kim told The Korea Times. "You cannot easily understand the feeling of

being treated like a disposable item. It's so miserable and painful. It's hard to

describe that feeling.''

Some 10 female unionists started a hunger strike on June 11, setting up a tent

atop the guardhouse, following fruitless sit-ins of more than 1,000 days. Most of

them gave up over health problems, but not Kim and Yoo.

"I climbed up there thinking I would never walk on the ground again unless our

demands were met. Of course, it was a painful experience for women,'' she said.

As they had to live in a tent, they also had to relieve themselves inside the tent.

The unusually hot weather this summer also added to their pain.

Despite their hunger strike lasting 70 days, their cause is drawing little media

attention because of the Beijing Olympics. Their company is also turning a deaf

ear to their demands.

"You can't sleep there when it rains and you can't lie down on the ground when it's

so hot. For women, everything up there was so miserable. But the most difficult

thing was that the company ignored us,'' she said.

Kim has lost nearly 13 kilograms and now down to about 40 kilograms. She is

refusing meals, taking only water, salt and yeast.

Proxy Fight

They did not expect their fight to last this long. Non-permanent workers at Kiryung

formed a union and went on strike in August 2005 for the promotion of their job

status. Their strike laid bare unfair practices at Kiryung and other companies in

Seoul's Guro Industrial Complex, which indirectly hire temporary workers from

outsourcing companies to avoid responsibility. In 2006, a court fined the company

five million won for committing illegal hiring practices.

"If you want to talk about problems with your boss, you'll hear 'We don't need

you' and 'You are fired.' After overtime and overnight work, you will get a text

message saying 'You're fired.' We simply wanted to change these inhuman

practices,'' Kim said in a weak but firm voice.

As the strike continued, the company president sat down at the negotiating table

on June 7. He proposed taking on temporary workers permanently after "a year

of training,'' and the union accepted. The next day, however, mid-level managers

rejected the deal and everything fell apart.

Lee and other union members resorted to an extreme measure ― fast for an

unlimited period unless their demands were met.

The company says, however, that it has no legal responsibility for them since they

are not on the payroll, but simply temporary workers from an affiliate.

The union says employers take advantage of loopholes in the Labor Law that

require employers to promote the status of contract workers after two years of

employment. Most employers, however, simply terminate the contracts just

before their two-year term ends.

Kim's struggle mirrors the situation that all temporary workers face.

"I wish temporary workers wouldn't give in. A wise solution to our problems here

can be the key to solving problems facing other non-permanent workers. I think

the government should also come up with more practical steps to help resolve

this impasse,'' she said. "Until then, I will continue to fight.''

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/08/117_29690.html

Already on Monday the "left-liberal" Hankyoreh published following short report:

Kiryung Electronics strike

Kim So-yeon, who is the leader of the Kiryung Electronics’ union and has been on a hunger strike for the past 67 days, is carried by a rescue team to a hospital on August 16.

Kim and fellow union member Yoo Heung-hee, who has been having lung problems, both succumbed to union members’ requests that they go to the hospital.

The Kiryung Electronics union has been on strike for over 1,000 days, hoping that the company will convert their status from irregular to regular workers. Despite a deadlock in negotiations with the company, the union plans to continue their efforts with the added participation of civic organizations, the umbrella labor union Korea Confederation of Trade Unions and the Democratic Labor Party.