Ssangyong strike serve as a cautionary tale for BAIC, Geely

Though it is not the biggest story that comes out of the Korean Peninsula today (the biggest is that Bill Clinton has secured the release of two American journalists sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in North Korea), it's absolutely an eye-catching piece that South Korean police commandos mounted a dramatic helicopter-borne raid on Wednesday to end a sit-in by strikers at a troubled auto plant, braving a hail of missiles and firebombs.

A quick glimpse of the mess: Workers fired nuts and bolts from slingshots, launched fire bombs, and have now barricaded themselves in a fireproof warehouse where they are willing to "die together."

Ssangyong in February won court protection from creditors as SAIC gave up management control. Court-appointed managers have since tried to turn it around through job cuts and cost savings.

The programme calls for the sacking of 2,646 workers or 36 percent of the workforce. About 1,670 of these have taken voluntary redundancy but others began an occupation of the plant on May 21.

The melee make one think of Geely Holding Group Co and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding who, just as Ssangyong's former parent Shanghai Automotive Industry, are racing unrelentingly for oversea assets like Ford's Volvo.

The clashes at Ssangyong may serve as a cautionary tale and illustrate the difficulties Chinese firms face in running foreign businesses post-acquisition.