Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has filed a 9 billion won lawsuit against the union, accusing it of occupying the venue for the shareholders’ meeting and obstructing production in the process of blocking the shareholders' meeting for corporate division (physical division).
HHI said on July 23 that it will first file a damage compensation petition with the Ulsan District Court against the union for 3 billion won out of its estimated losses of 9.2 billion won.
According to HHI, the union occupied the Hanmaum Hall in Donggu, Ulsan, the venue of the shareholders' meeting, for five days from May 27 to 31 on the day of the general shareholders’ meeting, disrupting its operations, including swimming pools and restaurants, and damaging theater supplies.
It also staged a strike to stop the split, blocking logistics transfers or disrupting production, causing troubles. The company estimates the total amount of damages to be worth 9.2 billion won.
Among them, HHI plans to file a lawsuit against the 3 billion won that secured proof data, and to file an additional suit for securing the rest of the data.
In order to prevent the transfer or use of the union's assets, the management earlier applied for 3 billion won of provisional seizure, including deposits, bonds and real estate, against 10 union members and the court accepted.
In a separate move, the Ulsan District Court ordered the union to pay 150 million won for breaking a court decision that bans acts of obstruction of the shareholders’ meeting.
"We plan to strictly hold the union responsible for the illegal act," a HHI official said, adding, "We are still checking the evidence to prove the damage."
The union, however, is protesting that the lawsuit is a crackdown on labor. "The company is using the lawsuit as a means to pressure the union by claiming the occupation of the venue for the shareholders’ meeting and production obstruction, which are not clear whether they are illegal or not," a union official said.