South Korea truckers end strike, boosting shares
STORY: The week-long strike crippled ports and industrial hubs, and raised new fears for global supply chains.
But now South Korea’s truckers have agreed to go back to work.
Late Tuesday (June 14) the transport ministry and unions agreed to extend an agreement on minimum freight rates, and will discuss expanding a guarantee on minimum pay.
The transport ministry will also review whether to expand fuel subsidies.
Labor officials said 100% of unionized workers at the key Busan port would be back at work within two or three days.
Not everyone welcomed the deal.
One business lobby group said statutory freight rates would harm competitiveness.
Unions also said there was confusion over what exactly the promise on minimum pay entailed.
But investors were broadly pleased, with shares in affected firms jumping.
Hyundai Motor gained as much as 4.4%, after saying production at its Ulsan plant had normalized.
Hanil Cement surged as much as 7%.
Those gains compared with a 1.8% drop for Seoul’s benchmark KOSPI index.
