Government: "Cargo Solidarity Must Return First for Safe Freight Rate Discussions"

On the 8th, when the government issued an order to resume work to the Cargo Solidarity Union in the steel and petrochemical sectors, a notice of premium gasoline sold out was posted at a gas station in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] The government stated that the Cargo Solidarity, which is currently on a collective transportation strike, must return to work before discussions on extending the sunset clause of the Safe Freight Rate System can take place.

On the 8th, Kim Soo-sang, Director of the Transportation and Logistics Office at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, told reporters, "The Cargo Solidarity must first return before discussions on the Safe Freight Rate System can proceed." He added, "Discussions on item-specific issues or extensions can be held, but work must resume unconditionally," and emphasized, "Only after the Cargo Solidarity returns can we move on to the next discussions."

On the same day, the government issued work commencement orders not only for cement but also for the steel and petrochemical sectors. However, it stated that there are currently no plans to issue orders for additional sectors such as refining.

Director Kim said, "The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is monitoring the situation, but there is no place for additional orders," and added, "As far as I know, there are no orders scheduled immediately."

He further explained, "Although some individual gas stations are experiencing shortages, overall refining shipments remain in the 90% range," and said, "We have not judged the impact on the national economy to be severe, and since there are many gas stations in the metropolitan area, we determined that issuing a work commencement order for the refining sector is not warranted."

On the same day, the Presidential Office also stated, "The consistent principle of the Presidential Office is 'return first, then dialogue,'" and added, "Once they return, we can open the dialogue table at any time. There can be no preconditions for their return."