A South Korean court Thursday handed down a suspended 18-month prison sentence to Kim Jin-suk, a female labor activist who staged a sit-in atop a construction crane to protest layoffs at one of the country's major shipping companies in the southern port city of Busan for 309 days.

The district court in Busan sentenced Kim to 18 months in jail, suspended for three years, on charges of interfering with the business of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction and causing chaos in Busan. "The defendant contributed decisively to prolonging (unionized workers') strike with her illegal activity," said Judge Choi Hwan. "The protest caused severe chaos and inconvenience to the region's communities and massive losses for Hanjin Heavy Industries."

Kim, a former employee of the company, climbed the 35-meter- tall crane in the work yard of Hanjin Heavy Industries in January last year to support unionized workers' protest against the 400 job cuts announced by the company in late 2010.

She voluntarily came down Nov. 10 last year, claiming victory after the firm announced negotiations with striking workers.

After the court ruling, Kim told local media that she will discuss with her lawyer whether to appeal against the decision as she feels sorry for the judgment, which she said was made only based on the illegality of her act rather than circumstances that pressed her to climb up the crane.