Korean gov’t warns of stern actions against cargo truckers’ strike

[Photo by MK DB]

The South Korean government on Thursday warned of invoking the country’s trucking transport business act for the first time since the law was enacted in 2004 to order unionized truckers to commence business, calling their latest nationwide strike a serious threat to the national economy, according to a joint statement to the nation read out by Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Won Hee-ryong. Under the act, workers who refuse to follow the order to return to work immediately will get a license suspension for 30 days or be sentenced for up to three years or get a fine of up to 30 million won ($22,560). The strike that began on Thursday already caused Hyundai Steel to give up shipping 8,000 tons of steel from its Pohang factory on the same day.