Protest tents that laid-off Ssangyong Motor Co. workers had set up in the heart of Seoul were forcibly dismantled on Thursday.

Former employees of the country's smallest automaker and civic activists had set up three tents and occupied part of the sidewalk in front of Deoksu Palace, across from Seoul City Hall, in central Seoul since last April, in protest against the company's mass layoffs of its workers in 2009.

The Jung-gu ward office under the Seoul Metropolitan Government mobilized some 50 officials and removed the tents around 5:50 a.m.

Thursday, officials said.

"The office had repeatedly asked the group to voluntarily remove their tents, but it rejected our request. There was no choice but to forcibly demolish the tents," a ward official said, adding that the removal was carried out earlier in the morning in fear of a potential clash with the protesters.

Some 280 police officers are currently stationed near the site and the ward office set up big flower pots around the area to prevent the protesters from setting up the tents again.

The Jung-gu office previously tried to remove the tents twice last month, saying that it has a right to crack down on illegal facilities in the district. The attempts failed due to strong opposition by the group.

"We will come up with countermeasures after an internal discussion," a member of the protest group said. (Yonhap News)