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The walkout by some 13,000 unionized truckers supported by self-employed drivers could also deepen woes of embattled President Lee Myung-bak who has already been shaken by daily protests over a U.S. beef deal and proposed privatization of state firms.
The country's main truckers' union went on strike Friday to call for more subsidies and higher fees for hauling freight to reflect rising fuel costs, dismissing government warnings of stern punishment.
Truckers from the Korea Cargo Transport Workers Union across the country held rallies to declare their indefinite strike.
The country's main ports have been rapidly paralyzed as trucking services have all been suspended since midnight. Busan port, the nation's largest gateway that handles 75.6 percent of total cross-border shipping, has already neared its maximum cargo capacity, according to regional maritime affairs and fisheries Office.
Cargo handling at the southwestern port of Gwangyang, the country's second largest, has also been disrupted as truck drivers have walked out. Gwangyang has served as a gateway for the country's major steelmaker, refiner and chemical producers.
The country's other ports have been also paralyzed with no space for piling incoming containers. Port grounds were already packed by tens of thousands of containers.
Striking unionists are just about five percent of the country's total estimated 330,000 truckers. But concerns are mounting that the unionized truckers drive container-hauling trucks, which are critical to the country's ability to haul freight by road.
Still worse, non-union truckers have also vowed to boycott cart transport, calling for oil price cuts. Some unionists blocked entrances to ports and cargo terminals, while intimidating non-union drivers to join the strike, officials said. Truck drivers handle some 70 percent of the nation's cargo transport.
Striking truckers are calling for the government to lower diesel fuel costs, raise fees for hauling freight and guarantee minimum haulage rate to offset the skyrocketing fuel prices.
The government said earlier this week that it would rebate half of the price increase to the drivers. But striking truckers want more subsidies and other measures to cope with the rising price of fuel caused by rocketing oil prices. "We will continue to strike until all of our demands are accepted," said Kim Jong-in, a union leader.
Shipping officials expressed concerns that truckers' work stoppage will bring overall shipments to a halt, dealing irreversible damage to deliveries of export and import goods. Some manufacturers are considering halting plant operations as truck drivers refused to deliver freight.
The strike is estimated to entail a daily loss of 128 billion won (US$122 million), dealing major blows to the country's steelmakers, auto makers and chemical producers who depend heavily on products exports and raw materials imports, according to the Korea International Trade Association.
The government has pledged to take stern legal action against striking truckers who instigate violence, occupy roads and try to obstruct operations of non-striking vehicles. "The nation stands to suffer an estimated 128 billion won (US$122 million) in loss per day because of the collective cargo boycott," Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said.
"The government is ready to use every means possible to prevent a serious disturbance in the nation's logistics system and minimize impact on the national economy," he said. The government plans to mobilize military trucks and schedule more cargo rail services to transport goods.
The crippling strike comes at a time when President Lee is suffering the biggest political challenge since taking office in February. Tens of thousands of South Koreans spill into central Seoul every day, since early May, to protest against Lee's decision to resume U.S. beef imports despite public concerns about mad cow disease.
On Tuesday, nearly one million people joined rallies across the country, marking the biggest protest in two decades.
In an additional challenge, the country's militant umbrella labor group, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions plan to stage strikes this month against the American beef deal and other plans of Lee that include building cross-country canals and privatizing public firms that would cut jobs.
