FuelClub Discount

Construction on the Yeongjong new city within the Incheon Free Economic Zone has stopped after dump truck drivers walked off the job demanding fee raises. Self-employed truckers are striking down in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, while unionized cargo truck drivers are thinking about holding a nationwide strike next month, raising worries of serious logistics problems. There has been a 30 percent drop in the number of fishing vessels going out into the East Sea this year, leading to a 20 to 30 percent rise in prices of fishery products. Each inter-city commuter bus is racking up between W3 million to W4 million (US$1=W1,037) in losses and half of the 100 or so operators of such transport services are in the red. The source of all these troubles is a 60 percent rise in the price of diesel fuel.

Diesel is the preferred means of energy for Korea’s working class. The transportation industry accounts for 80 percent of Korea’s total diesel consumption. Self-employed Korean cargo and dump truck drivers, operators of commuter buses and merchants selling products on the backs of small trucks, farmers and fishermen all rely on diesel.
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