Prosecutors Cracking Down on Striking Truck Drivers

Prosecutors said Wednesday that they have investigated 60 truck drivers taking part in the nationwide truckers’ strike and requested arrest warrants for five of them.

The public security department of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said legal action will be taken against truck drivers who beat or threaten non-union members; attack trucks not involved in the strike; block the entry of other trucks; run vehicles at slow speeds on purpose on highways; and illegally park trucks.

The office said it will not intervene in negotiations between truck drivers and shipping companies to end the strike, but that it will crack down on violent and illegal union activities.

A judge in the southern city of Gwangju, however, rejected an arrest warrant request for one truck driver, saying the driver reached a mutual agreement with the victim.

In the northern Seoul suburb of Goyang, prosecutors were considering whether to request arrest warrants for one or two members of the Korean Federation of Construction Industry Trade Unions.

The government, the truckers’ union and a group representing shipping companies also held talks on Wednesday, the sixth day of strike, but failed to reach a breakthrough.

Though the association suggested a new offer of a 16.5-percent hike in transportation fees, truckers stuck to their demand for more than 30 percent.

Many experts predict an agreement will come soon, however, citing that the association had originally offered a raise of just nine to 13 percent.

A government source said, “We have urged large companies, the shippers’ association and large-scale carriers that play a critical role in this dispute to participate in the negotiations more proactively.”

At 167 workplaces, 34 finished labor negotiations Wednesday.

After falling to the 10-percent range, the operating ratio at most ports rose to 32-34 percent, boosted by the government’s support. The volume of containers handled surged to 23,000 TEUs.

In northern Busan port, however, 86 percent of the container yard remained filled.

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