Kumho Tire's unionists vow to do whatever it takes to block sale of embattled company

Unionized workers of Kumho Tire Co., the country's second-largest tiremaker, said Saturday they will do whatever it takes to block its creditors' plan to sell the embattled company to a foreign company.

On Friday, Kumho Tire's creditors, including the state-run Korea Development Bank, announced they will plan to sell the financially troubled company to Qingdao Doublestar Co.

"We will do whoever it takes to block the push for the overseas sale," union representatives told reporters at a plant in Gwangju, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul.

They added they will continue their fight until the selling plan is withdrawn.

(Yonhap)

For the second day in a row Saturday, two senior members of Kumho Tire's labor union continued to stage a protest on a power transmission tower overlooking the tiremaker's plant in Gwangju.

The selling plan comes after the Chinese firm reached a deal with the creditors to buy a major stake in Kumho Tire in March last year. It was, however, scrapped in September due to a failure to iron out differences.

Kumho Tire reported a net loss of 88.56 billion won ($81.8 million) in 2017. (Yonhap)