South Korean truckers' strike enters third day
STORY: Thousands of truckers went on strike for a third day on Thursday (June 9) in South Korea to protest the sharp surge in fuel costs, disrupting production, slowing activity at ports and posing new risks to a strained global supply chain.
The strike presents President Yoon Seok-youl, in power for just a month, with one of his first big economic challenges. About 7,200 members or roughly 30% of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity union were on strike, the country's transport ministry said. The truckers were demanding an extension of a basic freight rate system that guarantees basic wages for truck drivers.
A South Korean auto industry group called the strike "extremely selfish", saying it would further pressure the sector which has been hurt by the global chip shortage.
South Korean steelmaker POSCO said it had been unable to ship about 38,500 tons of steel products from two plants daily since the strike began - equivalent to roughly a third of its daily shipments from those plants.
