Day 4: South Korean truckers broaden strike, curtain semiconductor production

A strike by thousands of truckers in South Korea entered its fourth day on Friday, threatening to severely curtail deliveries of raw materials for semiconductors and petrochemical products.  

The strike, which has been organized in protest against soaring fuel costs and basic pay guarantees, halved production at Hyundai Motor's biggest factory complex on Thursday and disrupted shipments for a range of companies, including steel-making giant POSCO, according to reports.

Near 7,500 members, or about 35 percent of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity union, are taking part in the strike on Friday, according to officials. 

As the strike continues, container traffic at ports has slowed sharply. At Busan port, which accounts for 80 percent of the country’s container activity, traffic was down to a third of normal levels on Friday, a government official was quoted as saying.

“Terminal gates are not blocked but container movements shrank to about one-third,” said the regional office of the Oceans and Fisheries Ministry, wishing anonymity.

However, according to a union official, the number of truckers participating in the strike was much higher than reported.

This may be the first serious challenge for the new South Korean president, Yoon Seok-youl, who has been in power for just one month.

Some observers believe the government is not capable of coming up with a solution.

South Korean truckers’ strike enters third day, disrupting supply chain

Thousands of South Korean truckers went on strike for a third day on Thursday to protest against the rising fuel prices.

"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," Shin Se-don, an economics professor at Sookmyung Women's University, was quoted as saying.

According to the Cargo Truckers Solidarity union, a meeting with the government on Friday ended without any agreement and they would meet again on Saturday.

"If the strike continues next week, then we need to reassess our handling of shipments," said an official at a major South Korean electric vehicle battery maker.

Among new actions, truckers plan to stop shipments of raw materials for semiconductors that are produced in Ulsan, Park Jeong-tae, a senior truckers union official was cited by Reuters on Friday.

Hyundai Motor has seen some disruption to production at plants in Ulsan as some 1,000 truckers protested at the main complex on Friday.

"There are some disruptions to our production due to the truckers strike, and we hope production would be normalized as soon as possible," a Hyundai spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Police have reportedly arrested more than 30 truckers’ union members till Friday.

President Yoon warned strikers on Thursday not to use violence and said the government is trying to resolve the situation through dialogue.

“Under no circumstances will the public find breaches of the law or resorting to violence acceptable,” he told reporters.

South Korea is a major supplier of semiconductors, smartphones, autos, batteries and electronics goods. The strike has given rise to uncertainty over global supply chains already disrupted by the war in Ukraine.

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