Government to Begin Sanctions on 'Cement Truck Owners' from the 5th... Damage in the Refining Sector Continues

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The government has decided to start imposing sanctions on cement truck drivers who receive a work commencement order from the 5th but do not return to work. For the first refusal, a suspension of operation for up to 30 days will be imposed, and for the second refusal, the freight transport qualification will be revoked.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 2nd, the government joint investigation team, which launched an on-site investigation to identify those refusing transport, has completed on-site inspections of 201 cement transport companies.

The Ministry secured a list of 777 truck owners and delivered work commencement orders to the transport companies. For 425 individuals whose addresses were confirmed, the orders were sent by mail. The number of truck owners who did not evade delivery and thus had the work commencement order take effect was 178.

The Ministry plans to conduct a second on-site investigation from the 5th to verify whether the truck owners have resumed transport. If it is confirmed that a truck owner has not returned to work, the local government will be notified to impose administrative sanctions such as business suspension.

Following the work commencement order, the volume of cement transport is gradually increasing. On this day, the cement transport volume reached 117,000 tons, which is 62% of the average level.

The container import and export volume at 12 ports rose to 69% of normal levels. Busan Port, which has the largest container import and export volume, has almost returned to normal.

Although cement and container cargo volumes are recovering, the petroleum sector is experiencing significant damage.

The government announced that as of 8 a.m. on this day, gasoline or diesel had run out at 52 gas stations, including 32 in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, and 20 in non-metropolitan areas.