South Korean Truckers End Strike After Reaching Settlement With Government

Members of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity union attend a protest in front of Hyundai Motor's factory in Ulsan, South Korea, on June 10, 2022. Byungwook Kim/Reuters

South Korea’s government has acceded to unionized truckers’ demands for minimum pay guarantees, following an eight-day nationwide strike that disrupted the economy.

The Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union (TruckSol) decided to end the strike after reaching an agreement with the Transport Ministry, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said on Tuesday.

“TruckSol members will suspend strike action and return to work in 16 locations nationwide,” KCTU said in a statement.

“TruckSol calls on the government and the National Assembly to keep their promises by immediately passing legislation to abolish the sunset clause,” it added.

KCTU said the ministry has agreed to extend the Safe Trucking Freight Rates System, which was designed to prevent dangerous driving practices and guarantee minimum freight rates for truckers.

The ministry also pledged to continue discussing the expansion to other freight types and to consider expanding fuel subsidies for truckers amid the rising fuel prices.

“In addition, [Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union-TruckSol] demanded that members returning to work should face no retaliation, and the [Transport Ministry] promised to actively cooperate in this matter,” it added.

The trucker strike has cost key industrial sectors more than $1.2 billion in lost production and unfilled deliveries, the government estimated on Monday, as the damage spreads deeper through Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol supported the ministry’s efforts to reach a settlement with the union, saying that cooperative efforts are crucial in light of the global economic crisis, The Korea Herald reported.

“We’re walking on thin ice because of the economic crisis caused by high prices and high interest rates around the world, and I think we will all need to cooperate in the interests of everyone,” Yoon told reporters.

Members of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather in front of a shipping port in Gwangyang, South Korea, on June 14, 2022. Kim Dong-ju/AP

Thousands of truck drivers had been protesting for minimum wage guarantees since June 7, claiming that the spikes in fuel prices threatened their livelihoods. Some 7,050 truck drivers were on strike on Monday.

The union said Monday that it was considering blocking shipments of coal to a power plant, following four rounds of fruitless negotiations with the government.

The strike also had an impact on the global chip supply chain. According to the Korean International Trade Association (KITA), the strike disrupted shipments to China of a key material used for semiconductor manufacturing.

It also caused manufacturing losses of 5,400 vehicles for South Korean automakers between June 8 to June 11, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, with Hyundai Motor cutting production for some assembly lines.