South Korea truckers' strike adds to Lee's woes

By Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean truckers extended their strike on Friday over high fuel costs, adding to President Lee Myung-bak's woes just past 100 days in office, but a threatened major anti-government protest fizzled out.

Thousands marched to mark the sixth anniversary of the deaths of two schoolgirls struck by a U.S. military vehicle, but the numbers fell far below organizers' expectations.

The road accident in 2002 had sparked anti-U.S. rallies that turned the tide in a 2002 presidential election.

Some analysts said the public may be suffering from "protest fatigue" after more than a month of rallies against Lee.

Protesters have criticized Lee, who pledged to draw Seoul closer to Washington, for kowtowing to the United States.

Lee stormed to victory in a December presidential election with pledges to grow Asia's fourth-largest economy by 6 percent this year, which economists now say is overly ambitious in the face of record high oil prices and a global slowdown.

Truckers voted to extend their strike after talks on higher pay and demands for cheaper diesel broke down. The strike threatens to hit freight transport in export-dependent South Korea, and is one of many by truckers around the world against soaring fuel prices.

The Korea International Trade Association estimated the damage from the strike could be 128 billion won ($123.8 million) a day, based on a study of historical data, local media reported.

Unionized truckers represent only a small portion of drivers in the country but play a key role in moving goods in and out of ports. About 14,000 walked off the job on Friday after talks on higher pay and demands for cheaper diesel broke down.

MILITARY TRUCKS MOBILISED

Containers moved through ports and inland terminals on Friday but port authorities said volume was showing a sharp slowdown.

The government mobilized military trucks and scheduled more cargo rail services to transport goods, but such moves have sparked clashes in previous truckers' strikes.

The Transport Ministry said it was immediately revoking striking truckers' annual fuel subsidy payments of about 15 million won ($14,500), and will begin providing police escorts to non-striking vehicles.

Transport Minister Chung Jong-hwan called on businesses to consider raising payments to truckers to help end the strike.

The militant umbrella Korean Confederation of Trade Unions is planning to hold a strike vote on Friday and its member unions, including the Hyundai Motor union, are expected to hold their own strike votes in coming days.