 |
|
During a state visit to India, South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks with Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group, which holds a controlling share in Ssangyong Motor, on the sidelines of a roundtable talk of South Korean and Indian CEOs held at a state guesthouse in New Delhi on July 10. (Yonhap News)
|
Calls for reinstatement of workers and “more investment in South Korea”
During a state visit to India on July 10, South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with the chairman of the Mahindra Group, which holds a controlling share in Ssangyong Motor, and asked the chairman to consider reinstating workers who were fired from the company. On the sidelines of a roundtable of CEOs from South Korea and India that was held at a state guesthouse in India on Tuesday, Moon met with Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group. “Management and labor may have reached an agreement, but the issue of terminated workers at Ssangyong Motor is still outstanding. I’d appreciate it if you could look into that,” Moon said. President Moon also called for “more investment in South Korea” and “creating a model for success through labor-management harmony,” Blue House Senior Secretary to the President for Public Relations Yoon Young-chan said. In response, Mahindra was quoted as saying, “I believe our managers on the ground will do a good job addressing this issue between labor and management.” Noting that Ssangyong “has grown very strong, with sales more than tripling in the seven years since its acquisition by the Mahindra Group,” Mahindra added, “We were able to overcome the crisis because we had the union’s support.” “We will continue working toward sustainable growth,” he continued. Mahindra also announced plans to invest another 1.3 trillion won (US$1.16 billion) over the next three to four years. “We believe Mr. Mahindra fully understood President Moon’s commitment and particular interest in the Ssangyong issue,” Yoon said. In response to the Ssangyong issue being broached by Korean Confederation of Trade Unions chairman Kim Myeong-hwan during their July 3 meeting, President Moon said he was “aware of Ssangyong’s situation.” “I have plans to visit India, and I will work on it,” he pledged at the time. The Mahindra Group acquired Ssangyong in 2011, but 119 workers have yet to be reinstated. The suicide of a dismissed worker surnamed Kim on June 27 brought the total number of deaths associated with the layoffs up to 30. In a summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the same day, President Moon reached an agreement to hold regular reciprocal visits between the leaders and work toward denuclearization and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula. The leaders also made plans to increase the amount of trade between the two sides to US$50 billion by 2030 – double its current level. “Now is the perfect time to add real substance to South Korea and India’s special strategic partnership relationships and usher it up to a higher plateau,” President Moon said. The leaders’ agreement to hold regular reciprocal visits was seen as a move to broaden the scope of cooperation with India, breaking with the past practice of South Korean Presidents paying one-off visits during their term. The two leaders further agreed to join forces toward the Korean Peninsula’s denuclearization and establishment of peace. To beef up economic cooperation in areas associated with future technology, industry infrastructure, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the two made plans to establish a “South Korea-India future vision strategy group” to serve as a base for cooperation in fields such as artificial intelligence, electric cars, and healthcare. By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
