S.Korea's Yoon says shipyard strike unacceptable, signals intervention

Members of the subcontractor union chant slogans on the floor of the occupied oil tanker during a strike at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in Geoje, South Korea, July 19, 2022. The sign reads "We can't live like this". Yonhap via REUTERS

A strike by contract workers at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) is unacceptable, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Tuesday, raising the prospect that his government could use force to break it up.

Yoon's remarks come amid rising tension at the company's shipyard near the south coast city of Geoje, where about 100 sub-contractors launched the strike last month, occupying the shipyard's main dock, to demand a pay rise of 30%.