A lower court on Friday ordered unionized workers at Ssangyong Motors to compensate the company and the police for inflicting financial loss and casualties during a 77-day strike staged in 2009.

The Suwon District Court said it has ordered senior members of the union and umbrella union groups who led the protest to pay 3.3 billion won ($3.1 million) and 1.3 billion won to the carmaker and the police, respectively, saying their actions were “violent, illegal and unjustified.”

In the 2009 strike, the union vehemently protested against the company’s plan to lay off 2,500 workers as a part of a restructuring scheme.

The prolonged protest has left 23 workers and their family members dead from suicide or stress-related problems to date.

By Suk Gee-hyun (monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)