Only 8 Reports Filed with Cargo Solidarity Center in Four Years
Ministry Continued Operation Even After Not-Guilty Court Ruling
"Yoon Administration's Campaign to Label Cargo Solidarity as Illegal Confirmed"
Junho Jung, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport continued to operate the "Illegal Activities Reporting Center Related to Cargo Solidarity's Collective Refusal of Transportation," which was established during the 2022 Cargo Solidarity general strike, by keeping it posted on its website even after the change of administration.
This center was a representative means of 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 label Cargo Solidarity as an illegal organization. At the time, cargo workers went on strike, risking their livelihoods, arguing that without the Safe Rates System, they would inevitably suffer from overloading, speeding, and overwork.
In response, the Yoon administration issued an unprecedented order to resume work, forcibly dispersing the strike. It also mobilized the Fair Trade Commission to classify Cargo Solidarity as a "business association" and went as far as filing charges against the union for violating the Fair Trade Act.
However, according to data submitted by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Junho Jung (Gwangju Buk-gu Gap) to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, only eight reports were filed with the center during the first week after its establishment, with no additional reports received since then. In the first half of this year, there were zero reports of illegal activities related to collective refusal of transportation, effectively eliminating the reason for the center's continued operation.
Following the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, the court ruled that the Cargo Solidarity strike constituted legitimate collective action by a union, delivering a not-guilty verdict two years later.
Last month, the National Assembly also passed a bill to extend the implementation of the Safe Rates System through bipartisan agreement, reflecting a consensus on the need to protect the rights and interests of cargo workers. With the root institutional cause of the conflict resolved, the continued presence of a "reporting center" targeting a specific union on the ministry's website is drawing criticism as a remnant of union suppression by the Yoon administration.
Assemblyman Jung stated, "Former President Yoon Suk-yeol and former Minister Won Hee-ryong waged a public campaign to portray Cargo Solidarity as an illegal group, but the number of reports was extremely minimal. Ultimately, the not-guilty verdict revealed that the allegations were baseless. Maintaining a center that serves no practical purpose even after the change in administration is a clear waste of administrative resources and constitutes dereliction of duty by the ministry for leaving behind traces of union suppression."
Meanwhile, in response to Assemblyman Jung's criticism regarding the operation of the reporting center, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that it immediately deleted the page from its website and discontinued its operation.
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