{"id":2199589,"date":"2022-11-29T09:43:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T09:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199589"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:10:54","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:10:54","slug":"yoon-suk-yeol-faces-off-against-unions-as-strike-threatens-south-korean-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/yoon-suk-yeol-faces-off-against-unions-as-strike-threatens-south-korean-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Yoon Suk-yeol faces off against unions as strike threatens South Korean economy"},"content":{"rendered":"
Following state council deliberations, South Korea’s transport ministry said it would issue an unprecedented <\/span>return-to-work order under Article 14 of the Transport Truck Business Act<\/a><\/span> on Tuesday. The order applies to cement truck drivers participating in a general trucking strike, which has now entered its sixth day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The government says the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union (CTSU) strike costs the economy some $225 million (300 billion KRW) every day it continues, and Yoon is now promising that any worker who continues to strike will face criminal prosecution of <\/span>up to three years imprisonment and a fine of up to 30 million won<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n The strike began on Nov. 24, when about 6% of South Korea\u2019s truck drivers <\/span>engaged in strike action<\/span><\/a> for the second time this year.<\/span><\/p>\n After the transport ministry reached a tentative agreement with CTSU <\/span>in early June<\/span><\/a>, some 22,000 members demanded assurances the government would extend minimum wage guarantees and expand the scope of guarantees to additional cargo categories. The government also pledged to review the increasing fuel subsidies for truck drivers amid rising global gas prices.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The June strikes disrupted supply chains and caused $1.25 billion (<\/span>1.6 trillion KRW<\/span><\/a>) in collective losses across industries, including petrochemicals, steelmaking, auto manufacturing, and cement production, among others. However, the agreement proved only to be a stop-gap measure <\/span>dependent on an unfulfilled legislative amendment<\/a><\/span>, thus leading to the second strike destabilizing South Korea\u2019s economic growth trajectory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n