South Korean government to hold first talks with striking truckers

South Korea’s government would meet the striking truckers’ union for talks on Monday for the first time after the nationwide strike began five days ago. By now, the supply chain glitches worsened, and construction sites are facing concrete shortages.

The transport ministry said on Monday that the government had elevated its warning of cargo transport disruption due to the strike to “serious”. This is the highest level in its disruption scale.

The current strike by thousands of unionized truckers is the second major strike in less than six months for better pay and working conditions. This was criticized last week by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (@President_KR) as taking the nation’s logistics “hostage” during an economic crisis.

The transport ministry said the container traffic at ports dropped to 7.6% of normal levels as of 5 p.m. local time (0800 GMT) on Sunday. This is down from 17% of normal levels in the morning.

South Korea’s export-dependent economy is Asia’s fourth-largest and faces lower growth projections in 2023.