▲ In this photo, police talk to the protester who jumped off the Han River bridge citing unfair dismissal from KG Mobility, previously known as SsangYong Motor, on July 7, 2023. (Yonhap)

layoff worker leap-police

Laid-off worker jumps off Han River bridge during protest, but safely rescued

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- A laid-off SsangYong Motor worker jumped off a bridge over the Han River during a protest to demand he be reinstated Friday, but was not seriously hurt as rescue workers waiting under the bridge immediately pulled him up, police said.

The man in his 60s was protesting while hanging on the exterior of a ladder on the southern side of the Hangang Bridge, before he threw himself off at 11:15 a.m. according to police.

The man, identified as a laid-off worker for the Korean automobile manufacturer KG Mobility, previously known as SsangYong Motor, was immediately taken to the hospital, and was not badly injured, police said.

He was hanging a banner with another laid-off worker in his 50s, claiming unfair dismissal by the company and demanding reversal of the layoff, sincere negotiations and compensation for damages, before he leaped from the bridge.

The other man was dissuaded from carrying on the protest by the police at 11:10 a.m.

Police spotted the two men at around 9 a.m., after one of them had called saying they will jump off the bridge at 8:30 a.m.

The protesters have been undertaking sit-in strikes in front of the KG Tower in central Seoul from mid-June, demanding compensation for their layoff.

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