A South Korean female activist was given a suspended jail term for staging a 309-day protest against layoffs atop a giant shipyard crane.
A court in the southern port of Busan sentenced Kim Jin-Suk to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, for obstructing the yard's business.
Kim, 52, came down from the 35-metre (115-foot) crane at Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction in Busan last November after management and unionists reached a compromise deal over the layoffs.
She had not touched ground since she climbed up the crane, with supporters sending food, water and other necessities up by rope. Police had been reluctant to halt the supplies for fear she would jump.
Her protest helped prolong the strike and caused "severe chaos and inconvenience to the region and enormous losses" for the shipyard, Judge Choi Hwan said in his ruling quoted by Yonhap news agency.
But the court suspended the sentence because her protest was not for personal gain and because the company asked for leniency.
The dispute began in December 2010 when unionists launched a strike in protest at plans to scrap 400 jobs. The company responded by locking the shipyard and cut off electricity to the crane as a pressure tactic against Kim.
Thousands of protesters from across the country repeatedly marched through Busan in a show of support for the laid-off workers, sparking clashes with riot police.
Activist gets suspended sentence for 309-day sit-in
A South Korean female activist was given a suspended jail term for staging a 309-day protest against layoffs atop a giant shipyard crane.
A court in the southern port of Busan sentenced Kim Jin-Suk to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, for obstructing the yard's business.
Kim, 52, came down from the 35-metre (115-foot) crane at Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction in Busan last November after management and unionists reached a compromise deal over the layoffs.
She had not touched ground since she climbed up the crane, with supporters sending food, water and other necessities up by rope. Police had been reluctant to halt the supplies for fear she would jump.
Her protest helped prolong the strike and caused "severe chaos and inconvenience to the region and enormous losses" for the shipyard, Judge Choi Hwan said in his ruling quoted by Yonhap news agency.
But the court suspended the sentence because her protest was not for personal gain and because the company asked for leniency.
The dispute began in December 2010 when unionists launched a strike in protest at plans to scrap 400 jobs. The company responded by locking the shipyard and cut off electricity to the crane as a pressure tactic against Kim.
Thousands of protesters from across the country repeatedly marched through Busan in a show of support for the laid-off workers, sparking clashes with riot police.
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