Police raid Korean bank sit-in

Some protesters fought back with pipes

Riot police in South Korea have broken up a six-day sit-in by thousands of striking bank employees protesting at a planned merger.

Thousands of riot police were sent in

Officers raided a bank training institute where about 10,000 staff, many accompanied by their families, had been camped in bitter cold weather since Friday.

The strikers fear the proposed merger of the Kookmin and the Housing and Commercial banks may lead to mass lay-offs.

There were minor clashes during the police raid in Ilsan, just north of the capital Seoul, but no reports of serious injuries.

Witnesses said at least 10 union members were arrested.

Paralysed

Kookmin and Housing and Commercial, which handle a quarter of South Korea's retail banking, have been effectively crippled by the protest.

Helicopters hovered overhead

Government ministers are meeting with the two banks' leaders to find a way out of the crisis, which has dealt a blow to President Kim Dae Jung's economic restructuring plan.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions has threatened a sympathy strike on Thursday which could result in up to 70,000 bank workers joining the protest.

Clashes

During Wednesday's eviction some protesters fought police with steel pipes as helicopters hovered overhead, whipping up clouds of dirt and debris in the strikers' makeshift camp.

Others sat or lay down on the ground following calls by union leaders to use passive resistance.

Reports said the government ordered the strikers to report to work by the next day or face suspension and fines.

But a union leader said the strikers had been told to regroup at Korea University in central Seoul to continue the protest.

Other strikers threatened to continue their action in the New Year.

Won down

Just before the raid, several hundred bank staff occupied another training centre in Yoju, south-east of Seoul. Police surrounded the building to keep other workers out.

Riot police were also deployed around Korea University and elsewhere in the capital to prevent workers from regrouping for more protests.

The merger would create South Korea's biggest bank, with assets of 167 trillion won ($133.4bn).

The crisis has seen the won, which closed at 1,258.5 on Wednesday, slide to a 25-month low against the dollar.