GOV'T & TRUCK DRIVERS REACH AGREEMENT

[Anchor Lead]

Last night the truck drivers' union and the Ministry of Transport have agreed to push for the extension of the Safe Trucking Freight Rates System. The unionized truckers have ended their strike after eight days and returned to their work on Wed. The logistics crisis is now expected to resolve.

[Pkg]

After two hours and 40 minutes of negotiations, the truck drivers' union and the Ministry of Transport finally reached an agreement at around 10:40 p.m. Tuesday. The breakthrough comes after eight days of a general strike and five rounds of talks. The two sides agreed to push for the extension of the Safe Trucking Freight Rates System, the key demand of the truck drivers. They have also agreed to continue negotiations to expand the number of items subject to safe freight rates.

[Soundbite] Kim Tae-young(Korean Cargo Workers Union) : "We welcome the government's promise to try to keep safe freight rates in place, albeit belatedly."

The Cargo Workers Union plans to continue talks with political parties to process the bill on the extension of the Safe Trucking Freight Rates System by the National Assembly. The Ministry of Transport will report the results of the system's implementation to the parliament based on the outcome of negotiations held so far as soon as the parliament's organization process is complete. It also vowed to consider additional subsidies for truck owners in line with surging oil prices. The presidential office lauded the agreement reached between the unionized truckers and the government as a "victory of principles," and expressed gratitude to the Cargo Workers Union for negotiating the matter. The political circles also welcomed the outcome of the talks. The unionized truck drivers have ended their eight-day strike and returned to work on Wed. Manufacturing and logistics operations disrupted during the strike are expected to get back to normal in the coming days.