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Today in the morning(KST), under the threat of massive state terror - the gov't predicted yesterday "bloodshed" - the striking construction workers in Pohang were forced to give up their current struggle.. But the struggle in general isnt't over!!

Hankryoreh, Yonhap reported today following:

Unionized workers voluntarily end sit-in strike at POSCO
 
Unionized workers voluntarily ended their strike at the headquarters of POSCO, the world's fifth-largest steelmaker, on Friday after their union disintegrated, police said.

About 2,400 construction workers hired by POSCO's subcontractors had holed up for eight days at the head office in the southeastern port city of Pohang, about 370 kilometers from Seoul, demanding higher pay and better working conditions.

On Thursday night, the union workers started leaving the 12-story POSCO building after riot police raided it to disperse them. All workers left the building as of around 4:00 a.m. on Friday, according to police.

Police crackdown brings end to week-long strike at POSCO

A police crackdown on striking workers at the head office of POSCO in this industrial city early Friday ended an eight-day demonstration that has disrupted the operations of the nation's leading steelmaker, local police said.

"We have arrested around 120 unionized workers, including their leaders holed up in the office, who remained there in defiance of our demand that they disband voluntarily," police said. "Eight others will also face criminal charges for disrupting POSCO's operations."
The arrests were made during a predawn raid that did not involve serious clashes. Police officers forced their way into the head office after union leaders refused to end their industrial unrest.
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20060721/410200000020060721095843E6.html

Korea Times will publish in its tomorrow's edition following:

POSCO Seeks Damage Suit Against Strikers
 
The police have arrested around 120 striking construction workers of subcontractors for POSCO, including 21 union leaders for their illegal nine-day occupation of the company’s headquarters in Pohang, North Kyongsang Province.

POSCO CEO Lee Ku-taek said the world’s fourth largest steel maker would file civil and criminal charges against the strikers for their illegal occupation of the head office, property damage and disruption of operations.

POSCO estimated that it sustained over 200 billion (about ($210 million) in lost production due to paralyzed operations. POSCO shares have fallen about 5 percent since the strike began.

The police said it issued an arrest warrant for Lee Ji-kyong, head of the regional industrial union of the construction workers. The police took the detained workers to nearby police stations for investigation. They said the leaders would face legal charges for violence and unlawful occupation.

The workers occupying the headquarters ended their nine-day strike early yesterday morning following the arrests.

The striking workers began to come out of the building around 10 p.m. Thursday, and all 1,532 workers there left the site by 5 a.m. yesterday, the police said.

On July 13, 2,435 workers occupied the building, demanding better working conditions, but 905 of them had deserted the strike before the collapse of the occupation Thursday night.

At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, leaders of the workers sent a written message to the police saying that they would voluntarily disperse if the authorities promised not to punish them or claim damage. Some of the workers began to remove barricades that they had set up inside the 12-story building.

One hour later, however, the workers changed their mind and set up the barricades again, following opposition by hard-line workers and a rumor that the authorities would take legal action against them.

The police kept up efforts to persuade them to leave, saying that they would be allowed home after a brief period of questioning.

Workers who were tired of the nine-day strike left the building of their own accord in groups of 30 to 40 amid the internal disputes between moderate and hard-line workers _ the leaders lost control and the illegal strike was finally broken up.

Twenty-four of the 30 construction projects POSCO has been working on were stopped during the strike causing about 10 billion won in losses per day.

It is expected to take more time for POSCO employees to start normal operations as many office fixtures and facilities in the building have been damaged.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, an umbrella union of the construction workers, said a similar strike could take place again unless POSCO solved the underlying problems workers face with subcontractors.

 http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200607/kt2006072115245611950.htm

JoongAng Ilbo is writing this:

137 strikers in custody as sit-in at Posco ends after 9-day siege
 

The sit-in at the Posco headquarters building here ended early yesterday when most of the striking construction workers slowly filed out of the 12-story building between 11 p.m. Thursday and 4 a.m. yesterday. After the strikers who left willingly had made their way out, police entered the upper floors of the building and removed about 30 leaders of the nine-day protest and others still in the building.

There had been signs earlier Thursday evening that the saga was nearly over; but the evacuation began only after conflicting announcements from the strikers of their intentions. Beginning an hour before midnight, some of the estimated 1,500 strikers began leaving in groups of 20 or 30; at midnight, those still inside began removing chairs blocking stairwells and filed out. At about 1 a.m., a group of 300 left the building together.

By 4 a.m., most of the protesters had left. They were interrogated briefly by police, and were released after signing statements promising to appear for further questioning later. The leaders who were seized by police inside the building are being held in custody. They included Lee Ji-gyeong, the head of the union on strike against construction companies under contract to Posco. The union, after talks with the contractors broke down, took their grievances to Posco, which had also provided temporary workers to replace the strikers.

Riot police had made sporadic efforts to evict the strikers by force, but were repulsed with boiling water and flamethrowers fashioned from pipes attached to gas canisters. Eight police were reported injured in the assaults over the earlier four days.
A sizeable number of the strikers left the building after the first police assault Sunday night, in which four policemen suffered burns. The leaders of the sit-in barred the departure of groups beginning Wednesday, allowing only individuals who complained of health problems to leave. But by Thursday evening, most of the workers had had enough.
At 6:10 a.m. yesterday, police declared the incident over. They had deployed 8,000 riot and other police to the scene, and said 137 workers had been taken into custody. They had obtained court warrants to arrest 21 union leaders, 17 of whom were reportedly in custody yesterday.

Posco said it would file civil and criminal charges against the union; its Seoul office is reviewing its options and estimating the assets owned by the union and its members, who are individually liable under Korean law for damage during an illegal strike...

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200607/21/200607212233259539900090409041.html 

But - believe it or not - the final battle against exploitation and oppression will come ..sooner or later!!