Government-Cargo Solidarity Practical Negotiations Enter Second Day...Accumulated Damage to Automobile, Steel, and Cement Industries

On the 11th, the government and the Cargo Solidarity Union continue their working-level negotiations for the second day following yesterday. While it is reported that both sides have yet to narrow their differences, damage from the general strike is accumulating in industrial sectors such as automobiles and cement.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) stated, "The government and the Cargo Solidarity Union plan to hold a working-level meeting at 11 a.m. today, following yesterday, and are actively working to resolve the issue."

According to MOLIT, about 4,200 Cargo Solidarity Union members stayed overnight by region from the previous day until early this morning, continuing the strike. MOLIT estimates that approximately 7,350 members, about 33% of the total 22,000 union members, are participating in the strike.

The container occupancy rate at each port (the ratio of containers actually stored to the port's container storage capacity) stands at 71.4%, maintaining a level similar to normal times (65.8%). However, localized transportation disruptions at some ports such as Busan Port and Ulsan Port have led to a decrease in import and export volumes compared to normal times.

The container import and export volume at the Uiwang Inland Container Depot (ICD) shrank to one-tenth of last month's level, and Incheon Port's volume dropped to one-fifth.

At Busan Port, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. the previous day, container import and export volume was 7,268 TEU (1 TEU equals one 20-foot container), falling to 33.6% of last month's level.

MOLIT explained, "Disruptions are occurring, such as decreases in production and shipment volumes of certain items like automobiles, steel, and cement," adding, "Urgent shipments are being dispatched under police protection, and efforts to minimize logistics damage are underway through companies deploying their own transport personnel and the government's emergency transport measures."

Additionally, police forces have been deployed at major logistics hubs to block illegal acts such as transportation obstruction and to protect operating vehicles, while alternative transport means, including military-commissioned container transport vehicles, continue to be deployed.

There have been ongoing clashes of varying scales at the strike sites.

At around 8:25 a.m. that day, approximately 270 Cargo Solidarity Union members occupied the road and protested in front of Shinhang Samgeori in Gangseo-gu, Busan. During this process, six union members were arrested on the spot by police on charges of obstructing cargo vehicle transport, and two police officers were injured and are receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.

The government guarantees the Cargo Solidarity Union's freedom of assembly and association but has repeatedly warned that it will respond strictly to illegal acts such as obstructing the transport of normally operating vehicles. MOLIT emphasized, "We once again urge the Cargo Solidarity Union to withdraw the collective transport refusal and return immediately."