15 unionized truckers detained for alleged business interference

Cargo trucks are parked near Jeju port Whart No.5 in Jeju, June 7. Yonhap

More than a dozen unionized truckers participating in a nationwide strike were apprehended Wednesday for allegedly obstructing business operations at a plant in Icheon, officers said.

Fifteen members of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity, under the wing of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, were taken into custody on charges of blocking cargo trucks from entering the plant operated by the country's leading beverage company, Hite Jinro, in the city 80 kilometers southeast of Seoul at around 8:30 a.m.

The union launched the walkout Tuesday, demanding the government extend a freight rate system guaranteeing basic wages for truck drivers to cope with surging fuel costs.

The union is demanding an extension of the Safe Trucking Freight Rates System designed to prevent dangerous driving and guarantee minimum freight rates for truck drivers. The system, introduced for a three-year run in 2020, is scheduled to end Dec. 31. (Yonhap)