This file photo taken Nov. 30, 2022, shows that containers are increasingly stacking up at a quay in Busan on the seventh day of a nationwide strike by unionized truckers. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has decided to file a criminal complaint against a truckers’ union for obstructing its on-site investigation during its strike last year.
The move came after officials from the watchdog were denied entry to the offices of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union three times in early December, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).
The investigators were looking into possible violations by the truckers’ union, such as forcing others to join the strike that ran from late November to early December.
Under the South Korean law, obstructing the investigation by the FTC officials can result in imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 200 million won (US$161,300).
The organization has been claiming it has no obligation to respond to the FTC, as it is a labor union not subject to local fair trade regulations.
The government, however, points out that the organization, established by individual truckers, was not authorized as a labor union, and that its members cannot be considered as workers as defined under the law.
(Yonhap)
