The Korean government is drawing up counter-measures against the truckers' strike expected to begin today.
To ease disruption in goods deliveries from the sit-in by the Korea Cargo Transport Workers Union, the government is expected to permit the use of military container trucks, cargo vehicles not registered under the union, and delivery cars.
Other counter-plans are likely to include setting up make-shift facilities at the country's busiest ports - Busan and Pyeongtaek - to facilitate the transport of accumulating containers.
It is estimated that the union's drivers handle, on average, 20 percent of the 24,830 containers that are shipped by road each day.
A majority of the members of the union have voted in support of a strike. Union leaders are striking until tomorrow, with other drivers expected to join on Friday if no compromise is made. The union represents about 13,000 of the country's 200,000 truck drivers.
The union voted to hold the walk-out, despite the government's announcement on Monday of a subsidy package. The government has offered rebates and subsidies to truck drivers and other people to help absorb the impact of record-high fuel prices.
It also pledged to cover 50 percent of the increase in oil costs to bus drivers, truckers, farmers, fishermen, and other lower-income industry workers. Operators of trucks smaller than a metric tonne will also receive tax rebates.
The union, however, said these plans were not enough to ease the burden of high oil prices, declaring that shippers and the government need to adopt more effective coping measures, such as increases in fares.
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