One of South Korea's major umbrella unions held a large rally in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday in support of the ongoing strike by unionized truck drivers.

According to a police estimate, some 35-hundred members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) gathered near the Uiwang Inland Container Depot, a major logistics hub, at 2 p.m. to show their support for the truckers’ walkout.

Occupying four lanes of an eight-lane road, they held up picket signs and chanted slogans calling for the expansion of the safe trucking freight rate system and an end to the Yoon administration's labor crackdown.

In a speech, KCTU president Yang Kyung-soo said the government was distorting facts in response to the union’s justified demand for a safe working environment.

He said the strike is to ensure the safety of truckers, citizens and the roads and to defend the rights of union workers employed in specialized occupations.

Yang vowed to fight on more sternly with stronger solidarity against government suppression.

Police deployed some 15-hundred officers on site to strictly deal with any violence and intimidation.

The labor group will stage similar rallies at 14 other locations nationwide including Incheon, Daejeon and North Chungcheong Province.