South Korea economy faces risks as trucker strike enters 7th day

22,000-strong union is protesting soaring fuel prices and demanding minimum pay guarantees – 4 rounds of government negotiations have failed to secure a deal

Petrochemical firms joined automobile and steelmakers in cutting operations due to inventory issues from transport disruptions from the truckers strike

Reading Time:2 minutes

A member of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity union stands next to a truck during a strike in South Korea. Photo: Yonhap via Reuters

Published: 11:50am, 13 Jun 2022

South Korean petrochemical firms on Monday joined the automobile and steelmakers in cutting operations due to mounting inventories as transport disruptions from a strike by truckers spread quickly across Asia’s manufacturing powerhouse.

The industry association representing 32 petrochemical companies in South Korea said the average daily ex-factory shipments of their member companies had plunged by 90 per cent due to the strike, now in its seventh day.

“The Cargo Truckers Solidarity union’s collective action to reject transport is spreading the damage to major petrochemical complexes in Ulsan, Yeosu and Daesan,” the Korea Petrochemical Industry Association said in a statement.

The 22,000-strong union is protesting against soaring fuel prices and demanding minimum pay guarantees. Four rounds of negotiations with the government have failed to find a compromise.

It was not confirmed whether companies have already cut operations, but a source at a major petrochemical company told Reuters most firms were still storing finished products with the hope of resuming transport.