Fuel runs short at South Korea petrol stations as union plans general strike alongside truckers

As of Monday afternoon, nearly 100 petrol stations had run out of fuel. About 60 per cent of them were in Seoul and Gyeonggi province, a densely populated region near the capital, according to Korea National Oil Corp data. That is up from the 21 petrol stations that the industry ministry had said were out of fuel on Nov 28.

Amid soaring fuel costs, as many as 25,000 truckers are calling on the government to provide a permanent minimum-pay system known as the “Safe Freight Rate”, which was introduced temporarily in 2020 for a small portion of more than 400,000 truckers.

In their second strike in less than six months, those truckers are fighting the bitter cold and the government’s narrative that they are well paid “labour aristocracy”.

The Yoon administration has said it would not give in to the union’s demands. The government has said it would extend the current programme for three more years.

The impact of a general strike is unclear and depends on participation, said Han Sang-jin, a KCTU spokesperson.

Labour minister Lee Jung-sik said on Monday that a general strike would not win public support.

The strikes have disrupted South Korea’s supply chain, and cost more than 3.2 trillion won (US$2.46 billion) in lost shipments over the first 10 days, the industry ministry said on Sunday.

Losses are expected to have grown in various industries, but traffic at ports has slightly improved to 69 per cent of its pre-strike average since the back-to-order was issued, according to the government.