Anchor: Fifteen days after unionized truckers began a nationwide strike, the government ordered drivers serving the steel and petrochemical industries to resume their routes. The order came nine days after a similar directive for cement truckers.
Richard Larkin has this report.

Report: The government has expanded its return-to-work order for striking unionized truckers, mandating freight haulers who serve the steel and petrochemical industries to resume work or face penalties.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced the decision during an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Thursday, calling the strike "unjustified" and criticizing its detrimental blow to the nation’s economy and industries.

[Sound bite: Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (Korean-English)]
"Logistics is the life line of our economy. When logistics stops, our industries come to a standstill and the damage ricochets to the national economy and public livelihood. Due to their refusal to deliver freight, manufacturers’ inventory storage is at maximum capacity and they are no longer operational. For exporters, ground routes to ports are blocked."

The prime minister said it was inevitable for the government to expand the back-to-work order amid concerns that the damage from the prolonged strike could expand to key industries, including semiconductors, and drive the nation’s economy into crisis.

[Sound bite: Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (Korean-English)]
"There are concerns that problems with shipments for steel and petrochemical products may have repercussions on essential industries such as automobiles, shipbuilding and semiconductors and cripple our whole economy. The situation before us is too grave and urgent to wait for their voluntary return."

Following the return-to-work order, Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho warned that violators would face the same penalties as noncompliant cement truckers, who were ordered to return on November 29th.

Those that refuse to comply without reasonable cause may have their license revoked, face up to three years in prison or a maximum fine of 30 million won.

The minister said the truckers' collective action has dealt damages of two-point-six trillion won on the economy. Shipments of steel products have more than halved while those for petrochemical products stand at a meager 20 percent of usual levels.
Richard Larkin, KBS World Radio News.