Steel products are piled on an empty lot near a Posco factory in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Sunday. Courtesy of Posco

By Park Jae-hyuk

Posco halted operations at some production lines at its steel mill in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, due to an indefinite general strike by unionized cargo truck drivers that has continued for the seventh day, Monday.

From 7 a.m., the steelmaker suspended production at all four wire rod factories in the southeastern port city and at one of two cold-rolled steel plants there, which mainly produce steel products for home appliances and high-quality construction materials. As a result, its daily production of wire rods and cold-rolled steel decreased by 7,500 tons and 4,500 tons, respectively.

Posco produces a combined 20,000 tons of steel products every day at its Pohang steel mill.

The steelmaker has had to pile its products on vacant lots near its steel mill because its warehouses have become full since the Cargo Truckers Solidarity went on strike last Tuesday to protest the planned annulment of the "Safe Trucking Freight Rates System" designed to prevent dangerous driving by guaranteeing minimum freight rates for truck drivers.