The presidential office has reiterated its adamant stance on labor strikes involving cargo truck drivers and Seoul subway workers. 

Senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye in a media briefing on Wednesday said that laborers’ legitimate rights to strike is guaranteed, but it should not be exercised unlawfully. 

Kim said walkouts that take the safety of the public hostage or deprive unorganized, low-income laborers of jobs will be sternly dealt with. 

The government’s duty to protect its citizens should be provided continuously, she said, calling it the government’s reason for being. 

The secretary said the government, at the president’s instructions, is reviewing “various options” regarding the cargo truckers refusing to comply with the return-to-work order, while highlighting the potential inconveniences for the public due to the Seoul subway unions’ strike and the planned strike by railroad workers this week. 

Meanwhile, a senior presidential official indicated that expanding the return-to-work order to oil tanker truckers is under consideration, citing a growing supply shortage of refined oil at gas stations across the nation amid the ongoing truckers' walkout.