Seoul  - Workers who had occupied an assembly plant of ailing South Korean carmaker Ssangyong Motor Co on Thursday accepted a compromise offer, ending a 77-day strike, police and managers said.

After only one hour of negotiations, several hundred workers occupying a paint shed accepted the management's offer to rehire 48 per cent of the dismissed 974 workers, but putting them on unpaid leave.

The workers' union agreed that the remaining 52 per cent will voluntarily leave the company or be rehired by spin-off affiliates of Ssangyong.

Talks resumed after several days of raids by riot police. At least 50 people were injured Wednesday on the second day of clashes between police and strikers, as riot police moved to retake all occupied buildings except the paint shop, as it was filled with flammable materials.

Television images showed workers leaving the occupied paint shed at the Pyeongtaek plant, 70 kilometres south of Seoul, one by one, with police checking their identities.

The occupation has crippled production at Ssangyong, as workers attempted to halt a management plan to get rid of 36 per cent of its workforce, after the automaker was placed into bankruptcy protection.

Liabilities issues on damages from illegal occupation are yet to be negotiated, police said.

Ssangyong has been under bankruptcy protection since March and the strikes have lowered its chances of survival, costing nearly 316 billion won (259 million dollars), the Yonhap news agency said.

Its major stakeholder, China's Shanghai Automotive Industry, had to relinquish management control during the bankruptcy protection process. (dpa)