Cargo truckers strike cuts container movement at South Korean ports
Cargo truckers strike cuts container movement at South Korean ports. The disruption ran from 2022-11-24 (24 November 2022) to 2022-12-09 (9 December 2022), 16 days, affecting Busan, Gwangyang, Incheon, Ulsan. Ulsan averaged 14.8 calls per day during the event window against an expected 18.8 (-21.3%). Gwangyang averaged 8.1 calls per day during the event window against an expected 8.5 (-4.8%). Incheon averaged 7.8 calls per day during the event window against an expected 6.7 (+15.9%). Busan averaged 32.6 calls per day during the event window against an expected 33.5 (-2.7%).
Key facts
- Started
- 2022-11-24 (24 November 2022)
- Ended
- 2022-12-09 (9 December 2022)
- Status
- ended
- Type
- Labour action
- Severity
- 3 Significant
- Scope
- regional
- Chokepoints
- None
- Lanes
- None
- Countries
- South Korea
- Confidence
- medium: The start date and the union's demands come from the International Transport Workers' Federation, the federation of the striking union. The return to work orders, the port throughput figures and the closing vote rest on Korean press reporting of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport data, consistent across two outlets, rather than on a ministry release we could retrieve.
- First reported
- 2022-11-23 (23 November 2022)
- Severity basis: Landside container movement at the country's 12 main ports, including Busan, Gwangyang, Incheon and Ulsan, was cut for more than seven days, the closest non measured criterion to a port level restriction of seven days or more.
What happened
From 2022-11-24 (24 November 2022) members of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union stopped hauling freight in South Korea, cutting container movement through Busan, Gwangyang, Incheon and Ulsan for 16 days. The union sought to keep and widen the Safe Rates system, minimum haulage rates for container and cement trucking that were due to lapse at the end of 2022. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reported that container movement at the country's 12 main ports fell to 37 percent of normal levels on 2022-11-29. The government issued return to work orders, first for cement haulage and then on 2022-12-08 for steel and petrochemical haulage. Members voted on 2022-12-09 (9 December 2022) to end the action, with nearly 62 percent of those voting in favour, and trucks returned the same day. The dispute over the Safe Rates system was not settled.
Measured effect
Container ship port calls, Busan
- Baseline (expected)
- 33.5 calls per day
- Observed
- 32.6 calls per day
- Change
- -0.9 (-2.7%)
- Standardised score
- -0.2
- Event window
- 2022-11-24 to 2022-12-09 (16 days)
- Baseline window
- 2022-09-22 to 2022-11-16 (56 valid days)
- Method
- wfm-effect-1.0
- Computed
- 2026-09-19 (19 September 2026), data revision 1:27e5b673891c
Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.
This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.
Container ship port calls, Gwangyang
- Baseline (expected)
- 8.5 calls per day
- Observed
- 8.1 calls per day
- Change
- -0.4 (-4.8%)
- Standardised score
- -0.1
- Event window
- 2022-11-24 to 2022-12-09 (16 days)
- Baseline window
- 2022-09-22 to 2022-11-16 (56 valid days)
- Method
- wfm-effect-1.0
- Computed
- 2026-09-19 (19 September 2026), data revision 1:d4e505b76882
Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.
This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.
Container ship port calls, Incheon
- Baseline (expected)
- 6.7 calls per day
- Observed
- 7.8 calls per day
- Change
- +1.1 (+15.9%)
- Standardised score
- +0.4
- Event window
- 2022-11-24 to 2022-12-09 (16 days)
- Baseline window
- 2022-09-22 to 2022-11-16 (56 valid days)
- Method
- wfm-effect-1.0
- Computed
- 2026-09-19 (19 September 2026), data revision 1:90b321c61ba7
Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.
This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.
Port calls, Ulsan
- Baseline (expected)
- 18.8 calls per day
- Observed
- 14.8 calls per day
- Change
- -4.0 (-21.3%)
- Standardised score
- -0.5
- Event window
- 2022-11-24 to 2022-12-09 (16 days)
- Baseline window
- 2022-09-22 to 2022-11-16 (56 valid days)
- Method
- wfm-effect-1.0
- Computed
- 2026-09-19 (19 September 2026), data revision 1:162c0d0a700a
Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.
This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.
Timeline
- The International Transport Workers' Federation says its Korean affiliate will stop work from midnight, with about 25,000 drivers expected to join, over the government's refusal to remove the sunset clause on the Safe Rates system. [s1]
- The strike begins. Container volumes at the main ports fall sharply on the first day, with Busan and Gwangyang together handling under 15,000 TEU, according to trade press citing the ministry and the Busan city government. [s2]
- The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reports container movement at the 12 main ports at 37 percent of normal levels at 17:00, with Gwangyang and Ulsan worst affected and Busan recovering somewhat. [s3]
- The government orders drivers in petrochemical and steel haulage back to work, the second such order after an earlier one covering cement haulage. [s4]
- Union members vote to end the action, with nearly 62 percent of the 3,574 who voted in favour out of 26,144 members. The Busan branch had already told members to return to work that morning. [s4]
Cause
The union struck to keep the Safe Rates system, which sets minimum haulage rates for container and cement trucking and was due to expire at the end of 2022, to remove its sunset clause and to extend it to more freight types. The government said removing the sunset clause was not possible, and the opposition passed a committee bill to extend the system by three years while the governing party said the question should wait until drivers returned. Attributed by: Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union and the Korean government. [s1] [s4]
Resolution
2022-12-09 (9 December 2022): Members voted on 2022-12-09 to end the action after 16 days, following government return to work orders covering cement haulage and then steel and petrochemical haulage. Drivers returned the same day without a settlement on the Safe Rates system. [s4]
Corrections
No corrections to this record as of 2026-09-16 (16 September 2026).
Sources
- [s1] International Transport Workers' Federation, Truck strike: South Korean government risks people's lives and economic damage by reneging on safety law promise, published 2022-11-23 (23 November 2022), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (official)
- [s2] The Maritime Executive, South Korea's Truckers Resume Strike Blocking Ports and Manufacturing, published 2022-11-24 (24 November 2022), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (press)
- [s3] YTN, [경제]국토교통부 "전국 항만 컨테이너 반출입량 평시 대비 37% 수준", published 2022-11-30 (30 November 2022), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (press)
- [s4] The Korea Times, Striking cargo truckers vote to end walkout, published 2022-12-09 (9 December 2022), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (press)