Cargo Union Branded as Illegal Organization... Is Union Suppression Still Ongoing?

Ministry Continues Cargo Union 'Illegal Acts' Reporting Center
Only 8 Reports Filed Since 2022, None This Year
Jung Junho Criticizes Yoon Suk-yeol Administration's "Baseless Allegations"

Junho Jung

It has been revealed that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport continued to operate and display on its website the 'Illegal Acts Reporting Center Related to the Cargo Union's Collective Refusal of Transport' (hereinafter referred to as the Center), which was established during the Cargo Union's general strike in 2022, even after the change of administration.

The Center was a representative tool for union suppression, created in November 2022 by former President Yoon Suk-yeol and then-Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, in an effort to brand the Cargo Union as an illegal organization.

At the time, cargo workers argued that the abolition of the Safe Freight Rate System would inevitably lead to overloading, speeding, and overwork, and went on strike to defend their right to livelihood.

The Yoon administration issued an unprecedented order to resume work, forcibly ending the strike, and mobilized the Fair Trade Commission to classify the Cargo Union as a 'business association,' even filing charges against the union for violating the Fair Trade Act.

However, according to data submitted to the National Assembly by Junho Jung, only eight reports were filed with the Center during the first week after its establishment (from December 1 to December 8, 2022), with no additional reports filed thereafter. In the first half of 2025, there were zero reports of illegal acts related to collective refusal of transport, effectively eliminating the reason for the Center's continued operation.

After the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, the court ruled that the Cargo Union's strike was a legitimate collective action by the union, acquitting the union after two years. Last month, the National Assembly also passed a bill to extend the Safe Freight Rate System through bipartisan agreement, affirming the need to protect the rights and interests of cargo workers.

Given that the institutional issues at the root of the conflict have now been resolved, continued display of the 'reporting center' targeting a specific union on the Ministry's website is being criticized as a remnant of union suppression left by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

Jung pointed out, "Former President Yoon Suk-yeol and former Minister Won Hee-ryong waged a public campaign to portray the Cargo Union as an illegal force, but the number of reports was extremely minimal. Ultimately, the acquittal revealed that these allegations were baseless."

Meanwhile, in response to Junho Jung's criticism regarding the operation of the reporting center, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that it had immediately removed the page from its website and ceased its operation.