The Federation of Korean Seafarers’ Unions (FKSU) has protested against the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s imposition of hefty fines on liner operators for freight fixing.
Union leaders, citing Hanjin Shipping’s collapse in 2016, argued that 1 million jobs in the country’s shipping, ship building and logistics industries could be at risk if the liner operators have to take drastic measures to pay the fines.
Speaking outside the KFTC’s headquarters in Seoul on 17 November, FKSU president Chung Tae-kil said, “Why is the Fair Trade Commission so ruthless about the South Korean shipping industry, which the Moon Jae-in administration invested KRW8 trillion (US$6.7 billion) to revive with the goal of rebuilding and re-creating the ocean after overcoming the pain of the Hanjin Shipping crisis?”
Over 200 people all over South Korea, from seafarers to marine engineers, participated in the rally.
KFTC imposed a combined fine of around US$672 million in June, after an investigation showed the companies colluded between 2003 and 2018 to fix freight rates on the South Korea-South-east Asia route.
Although the Shipping Act allows such collusion, it was not explicitly permitted in the Fair Trade Act that the shipping industry is free to do so.
While the Shipping Act was amended on 5 October to immunise ship operators from the Fair Trade Act, KFTC chairwoman Joh Sung-wook has hinted that this cannot retroactively remove the fine.
Chung continued, “Immediately stop the KFTC’s act of extortion through its illegal fine of KRW800 billion (US$670 million) on shipping companies that handle 99.7% of Korea’s imports and exports. Overseas shipping companies are cutting sailings to South Korea due to Covid-19, and South Korean shipping companies and shippers are up to their necks”
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
