SEOUL– South Korea’s antitrust regulator said Monday it has made another unsuccessful attempt to investigate the union of striking truckers as the members continued to block the on-site probe.
Earlier in the day, officials of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) visited the offices of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union in Seoul and the southern city of Busan, but failed to enter the compound amid protests by the truckers.
The investigators were looking into possible violations of law by the truckers’ union, such as forcing others to join the strike, as the nationwide strike entered its 12th day on Monday without signs of a compromise.
The FTC plans to make another attempt to enter their offices later in the day, warning that such interference would result in imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of 200 million won (US$154,900).
Truckers have been demanding that the government extend temporary rules guaranteeing minimum freight rates, which are set to expire this year.
The government invoked a return-to-work order on truckers in the cement industry last week as the strike has caused major disruptions in the local supply chain, sparking fears that it may further weigh down the economy already hurt by high inflation and weak exports.
On Monday, President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed officials to prepare an executive order for striking truckers in the fuel and steel industries to return to work.
The strike, meanwhile, has been affecting different areas of the South Korean industry.
So far, the size of damages caused by the strike on the steel sector in North Gyeongsang Province is estimated at 140 billion won (US$108 million), industry sources said.
As of Monday, 49 gas stations in the greater Seoul area were out of fuel, with nine and seven others in South Chungcheong and Gangwon Province, respectively, also suffering shortages.
Hankook Tire & Technology Co., the world’s seventh-largest tiremaker by sales, said its daily shipments of containers from its two main plants in Daejeon and Geumsan fell to around 40 percent of the pre-strike level.
Source: Yonhap News Agency