[Editorial] Truckers` Strike Strikes out Law and Order

The KCWF, a labor union representing South Korean truckers, walked off the job and paralyzed cargo-transportation in Pohang, about 200 southwest of Seoul. We are shocked. Also, workers in other regions are bubbling with signs of participation in the on-going strikes down south. There is a distinct possibility that the Pohang strike, once spilling into other regions, may put the whole nation in a stupor.

Union members in Pohang are wielding metal pipes at ordinary citizens, and have clogged the city’s streets for the past five days. They have also attacked each and every truck trying to pass their picket lines around the city. These gangs of union workers have basically taken over the entire city, and the Roh administration is just sitting there, watching the events unfold on TV.

The strike has basically blocked regional steel makers from shipping their products. In the process, the economy is reeling. POSCO, for example, has already sustained a 10 billion won loss, and 20 other companies are spinning on their heads. With the strike prolonged, related industries like auto manufacturers will be hit hard as well. The most severe damage though falls on the shoulders of small- and medium-sized companies. Their products are sitting in warehouses, patiently waiting for the truckers to come back.

The union has to stand down at some point. There is really no reason or justification for this current strike. And no matter how hard-up they think they are, normal citizens will just not tolerate violence. They are blockading an entire city, and, in the process, are hurting those who have nothing to do with their cause.

The Roh administration can give no excuse whatsoever for this debacle. Other countries have shown just how devastating a truckers` strike can be, usually with the same type of effect. Nonetheless, the Roh administration let it boil over before anything was done. Ministers just sat there and waited until the president himself asked about the situation. Are they really worth their positions?

The Roh administration should teach them what it means to break the law. Some of the demands of the workers are in fact legitimate. But they are not enough to justify an all-out violation of the law. The Roh administration has stressed a "harmonious management-labor" relationship. The relationship though presupposes that both sides are law abiding citizens.