WORLD> Asia-Pacific
S.Korean president apologises on beef, sacks aides
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-19 15:19

The truckers reached tentative agreements with employers including steelmakers POSCO and Hyundai Steel for higher pay, the transport ministry said.


People holding candles march during a candle-light rally to demand the full-scale renegotiation of a beef deal with the US and the resignation of President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul June 17, 2008. [Agencies]
On Wednesday, thousands of construction workers and hundreds of other truckers went back to work after the government offered them deals that would save them money on operating costs.

The labour strikes have cost the country at least $6 billion in lost business as some companies stopped production lines after they ran out of storage space and ran low on parts and materials.

Shares of major exporters were lower on the Seoul bourse with analysts saying the damage from the truckers' strike was expected to have a prolonged effect on companies such as LG Electronics, off by more than 5 percent in afternoon trade.

"Although the situation is slowly improving, the sentiment was weighed down by reports that some factories weren't running in full with inventories piling up due to delivery delays," said Lee Sung-june, an analyst at SK Securities.

The transport ministry said the amount of cargo going through ports is picking up as truckers return to work but overall levels are much lower than normal because ports remained clogged.

Top US and South Korean trade officials have been meeting in Washington, trying to reach a voluntary deal that prevents beef products South Koreans see as posing a high risk of mad cow disease from being sent to what was once a major US beef importer.

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