Seoul secures logistics – army now steps in for striking truck drivers

The 22,000-member drivers’ union began running away on June 7 to push for higher wages and a minimum wage guarantee. This puts even more pressure on supply chains, which are already under pressure worldwide. South Korea has a strong international network thanks to global companies such as Samsung and is a major supplier of semiconductors, smartphones, automobiles, batteries and electronic items.

The strike is already costing the economy more than a billion
The damage to the domestic economy is already in the billions, according to the Ministry of Industry. Production, distribution and export losses are reported at 1.6 trillion won (1.2 billion euros). The car, steel, petrochemical and cement industries are particularly affected by the strike.

Chip production continues, petrochemical suffers
The Petrochemical Industry Association complained that the average daily ex-factory deliveries of its 32 member companies had fallen by 90 percent as a result of the strike. Steelmaker Posco has announced that it will close some factories due to lack of space to store undelivered products. The car manufacturer Hyundai has reduced production in some factories. Cement producers have also ceased their activities.

So far, there have been no reports of major production stoppages at semiconductor manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. However, a long-term logistics problem with some chemicals can still cause problems. “Chipmakers typically have sufficient amounts of these materials that they don’t see an immediate impact on their chip production,” an industry insider told Reuters. “But it is worrying that the impact of this strike is spreading across almost every sector.”