Won Hee-ryong "No Major Conflict with Cargo Solidarity... Resolved Through Dialogue"

Difficulties Expected from the Third Day... Especially Cement and Steel Face Challenges

On the 9th, a test drive event for the autonomous vehicle 'RoboRide' pilot service was held at the Hyundai AutoEver building on Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is giving a greeting. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] On the 9th, Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said regarding the general strike by the Cargo Solidarity Headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Public Transport Union (Cargo Solidarity), "We will resolve it amicably through dialogue as soon as possible."

After test-driving an autonomous vehicle at Hyundai AutoEver in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Minister Won told reporters, "Basically, there are always conflicts between people due to differing interests," expressing this view.

Minister Won explained, "Dialogue between the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Cargo Solidarity has never been broken, and meaningful talks have been ongoing yesterday and today," adding, "The damage for about 2 to 3 days has been anticipated and prepared for by cargo owners and ports."

He continued, "From the third day, difficulties will arise in places where inventory storage or self-transportation means are insufficient," pointing out, "There are particular difficulties in cement and steel, and if the strike lasts too long, it will burden the economy and also the truck owners."

He emphasized, "In fact, there are no major disagreements or conflicts in terms of content," and added, "We will do our best to reach an amicable adjustment through dialogue and create a resolution that reassures the public."

When asked how long the strike might last, Minister Won replied, "Several months would be too long; we will do our best to resolve it through dialogue without taking that long."

He also added, "Such actions by Cargo Solidarity cannot block the steps toward innovation to prepare for the future."

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, as of 10 a.m. on the same day, the participation rate in the Cargo Solidarity general strike was about 7,200 members, or 33%, out of an estimated total of 22,000 union members.

Twelve ports nationwide are operating normally, but the container storage rate (the ratio of actual container storage capacity to port container storage capacity) at the same time was 70.2%, higher than the usual 65.8%.