Striking SoKor Truckers Delay Port Activity, Delay Car, Chip Exports

On Friday, June 10, 2022, defiant South Korean truckers began a broader and more aggressive strike, threatening to severely curtail deliveries of raw materials for semiconductors and petrochemical products, Byungwook Kim and Heekyong Yang reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: The union has contended that the numbers on strike are much higher than government estimates and that many non-union truckers are also refusing to work.

The strike, now on its fourth day, has cut production at Hyundai Motor Co.'s largest factory complex in half and has disrupted shipments for a variety of companies, including steelmaking giant POSCO.

Port container traffic has also slowed significantly. According to a government official, traffic at Busan port, which handles 80 percent of the country's container traffic, was one-third of normal levels on Friday.

It has fallen to 20% of normal levels at Incheon port, while container traffic has been completely suspended at Ulsan port, the industrial hub where much of the strike action has taken place, since Tuesday.

Unionized cargo truckers across the country went on strike Tuesday, demanding that the government extend a freight rate system that guarantees basic wages for truck drivers in order to deal with rising fuel costs.

Some 7,500 members, or about 35% of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity union, are expected to be on strike on Friday, the transport ministry said. The government estimates that about 6% of the country's 420,000 truck drivers belong to a union.

The union has contended that the numbers on strike are much higher than government estimates and that many non-union truckers are also refusing to work. At least 30 of the strikers have been arrested.

South Korea is a major supplier of semiconductors, smartphones, automobiles, batteries, and electronics, and the latest industrial action adds to the uncertainty in global supply chains that have already been disrupted by China's strict COVID restrictions and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Faced with one of his first major economic challenges, new President Yoon Suk-yeol has taken a "neutral" stance, arguing that the government should not be overly involved. Some observers are concerned that Yoon's remarks will impede the government's ability to find a solution.

"The government needs to review the union's demands. They don't need to accept them all, but I think they could make the situation a bit easier if they could consider giving out subsidies so truckers can deal with soaring fuel prices," said Shin Se-don, an economics professor at Sookmyung Women's University.

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