Yoon Suk-yeol, the president of South Korea, issued a warning that the government would intervene to end a truckers’ statewide strike, describing it as an illegal and undesirable action to ‘hostage’ the nation’s supply chain during a time of economic hardship.
On Thursday, thousands of unionised truckers began their second significant strike in less than six months in an effort to improve wages and working conditions. The 10th largest economy in the world is already experiencing supply chain disruptions as a result of the action, which also impacts steel companies, cement producers, and automakers.
According to union representatives speaking to Reuters, there are no active talks or negotiations with the government. The nation’s transport ministry claimed that it asked for talks with the union on Thursday, but no date has been set.
Out of the approximately 420,000 transport employees in South Korea, union leaders believed that about 25,000 were participating in the walkout. 164 places across the country were slated to host protests for the strike on Friday, according to the transport ministry, down from 9,600 on Thursday.
Yoon noted that exports were crucial to overcoming economic instability and financial market volatility in a Facebook message late on Thursday. ‘The public will not tolerate taking the logistics system hostage in the face of a national crisis,’ Yoon wrote.
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