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| Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong speaks at a press conference at Sejong Government Complex, Monday. Courtesy Land, Infrastructure and Transport |
'Logistics system overhaul, removal of middlemen vital to restructuring truckers income system'
By Lee Kyung-min
The government will not accept a demand by the main opposition party and the truckers' union to extend for three more years a much-disputed law guaranteeing unionized truckers a minimum freight rate, stressing it will instead overhaul how truckers are paid in order to prevent a repeat of the devastating strike by truck drivers, the transport minister said Monday.
Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong stressed that he is aware of concerns that the law without extension will expire, crippling low-income truckers. But the seemingly time-sensitive expiration, he added, can be remedied by further discussion in the months to come for a retroactive application of the related, revised laws.
"The government will prioritize reasonable revisions reflecting the concerns of all parties and stakeholders involved, including how the freight rates are set and how middlemen are taking profit that should rightfully go to the truckers. We will form a consultative body to collect all opinions before reaching a conclusion," he said at a press conference at Sejong Government Complex, Monday.
The government plan to prevent unionized truckers' strikes will be best determined by the removal of middlemen raking in profits, under a broader drive to overhaul the current unsustainable logistics system, he added.
The top transport policymaker criticized the main opposition-led railroading of the unconditional extension of the disputed law. The collective, politically motivated push, he said, was an irresponsible and stop-gap measure enabling the same fiasco to be repeated in the years to come.
Unionized truckers who returned to work late after receiving a written executive order will not be exempt from administrative measures and criminal prosecution, a principle he characterized as a necessary zero-tolerance measure against a collective move to generate and foster a state of anarchy.
Stern measures
"Any collective organized action that is out of bounds with the law will be met with the sternest possible measures," he said.
The 15-day collective walkout spearheaded by about 6 percent of the country's cargo truckers has led to an economic loss of 4.1 trillion won ($3.1 billion).
Truckers have returned to work, but the immense disruption to the major growth-driving manufacturing industries left damage unlikely to be recuperated in the near term.
"At least a few weeks or up to months will be needed for the hardest-hit industries. The government will clearly identify the hardships experienced by each industry and have them duly reflected in the preventative measures to be announced early next year."
The ongoing dispute will not be about the destination, but the starting point, with recognition shared by the transport authorities, truckers and businesses whose operations are determined by the stability of supply chains and logistics systems, in his view.
"We are not seeking a tug-of-war with truckers, nor is that the right way to proceed. It may take more time than initially thought, but the premise is about pursuing the right course, not speed," the minister said.
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