Big strikes are planned for South Korea on Wednesday, in a confrontation between the government and the unions over tough economic reforms.

Unions say more than half-a-million workers across the country will take action, in protest over the rapidly-increasing number of job losses.

The giant Hyundai corporation alone plans to sack a quarter of its workforce.

Unions say that companies aren't following agreed procedures and are sacrificing workers instead of managers.

The International Monetarey Fund agreed a rescue package for South Korea on the condition of economic reform, including -- for the first time -- allowing companies to sack workers.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
 

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