Saturday March 24 6:21 AM ET
Korea Workers Hurl Firebombs Over Daewoo Layoffs

SEOUL (Reuters) - About 500 South Korean workers angry about layoffs at bankrupt Daewoo Motor hurled firebombs on Saturday after riot police drove them onto a university campus.

Members of the militant union group Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), including former Daewoo workers, were driven into a university near Daewoo's main plant in Pupyong after their plan to gather in the city center was thwarted by the police, union officials said.

``Two police helicopters flew over the gathering site in an apparent move to discourage protesters,'' said Sohn Nak-koo, a spokesman for the KCTU.

Witnesses said there seemed to be no injuries in the clash where about 300 hand-made firebombs were thrown.

Police were not available for comment.

In February, Daewoo Motor issued layoff notices to 1,750 workers at the Pupyong plant, triggering a series of protests and violent crashes with police.

The South Korean government has tried to sell the country's third largest carmaker to a foreign buyer for more than a year, possibly to General Motors, but progress has been slow.

Workers have opposed the plan to sell Daewoo Motor to the U.S. auto giant and instead demanded the carmaker be nationalized.

Since it was declared bankrupt last November, Daewoo Motor has been under a harsh restructuring scheme.

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