Court partially grants injunction in Samsung Electronics labor union's general strike case... "Operations must be maintained as usual" [Overall]

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[Financial News] The court on the 18th partially granted Samsung Electronics' request for an injunction against the Samsung Electronics labor union's general strike, putting the brakes on the move. With the general strike just three days away, the union and management were holding what was effectively their final round of talks that day, drawing attention to whether the ruling would affect the outcome.
Civil Division 31 of the Suwon District Court, presided over by Chief Presiding Judge Shin Woo-jung, partially accepted Samsung Electronics' request for an injunction to prohibit unlawful strike activity against the Samsung Electronics Branch of the Supra-enterprise Labor Union and the National Samsung Electronics Union.
The panel ruled that during the strike, neither the union nor its members may stop, abolish, or interfere with operations that are maintained at the same level of staffing, operating hours, and duty of care as in normal times before the strike, whether on weekdays, weekends, or holidays.
It also ordered that the union must not obstruct security-related work, including damage-prevention work on facilities and work to prevent wafer deterioration, when such work is carried out with the same level of staffing, operating hours, scale of operations, and duty of care as in normal times before the strike. The union also may not cause its members to engage in such acts.
In addition, the court banned the Supra-enterprise Labor Union and union president Choi Seung-ho from occupying all or part of facilities, installing locks on facilities, or blocking workers from entering. However, it rejected the request to prohibit occupation by the National Samsung Electronics Union and union president Woo Ha-kyung. The court said this did not mean occupation would be allowed, but rather that it did not see a high likelihood of occupation and therefore did not issue a separate prohibition order.
The panel also accepted most of the company's other claims.
To ensure compliance with the injunction, the court also attached a condition requiring the two Samsung Electronics labor unions subject to the order to pay 100 million won per day if they violate the prohibition ruling.
However, it did not grant the request for an injunction banning interference with union members and executives. The panel explained that the parties affected by the unions and their representatives are limited to their own members.
It also dismissed the company's request to ban threats against union members and calls for participation. The court found that the purpose of preventing participation in the strike could largely be achieved through the parts it had already granted.
With the court's ruling on the strike now out, attention is turning to what comes next. As management and the union entered last-minute negotiations that day, they are expected to reach a conclusion before the general strike on the 21st. Since most of the company's arguments were accepted, it remains to be seen whether the union will accept the court's decision.
theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter