Replacement Transport
대체수송
A strikebreaking practice in which an employer deploys replacement vehicles and drivers to move freight during a transport or logistics workers' strike, undermining the strike's economic effect. While Article 43 of South Korea's Trade Union Act generally prohibits replacement labor for work suspended by industrial action, indirect replacement transport has recurred in the transport and logistics sector through subcontracting structures that allow prime contractors to disclaim employer status. The ILO Committee on Freedom of Association considers the replacement of strikers an infringement of freedom of association except in essential services and acute national emergencies.
In depth
Legal Framework
Article 43(1) of South Korea's Trade Union and Labour Relations Adjustment Act provides: "An employer shall not hire or replace persons unrelated to the business concerned to perform work suspended due to industrial action during its period." In the transport and logistics sector, however, prime contractors have routinely argued that they are not the employer in relation to the 'business concerned' because drivers are classified as special-employment workers contracted to individual transport companies. This allows replacement transport vehicles to be deployed at strike sites while the prime contractor disperses legal liability down the subcontracting chain.
International Labour Standards
The ILO Committee on Freedom of Association considers the replacement of strikers to be, in principle, a serious infringement of freedom of association. The Committee has held that replacement is justified only: (a) in a strike in an essential service where strikes are forbidden by law, or (b) when a situation of acute national crisis arises.
Major Cases in South Korea
In April 2026, during a strike at CU logistics centres, BGF Retail, the prime contractor, denied direct employer status and refused to bargain while simultaneously deploying replacement transport vehicles. On 20 April 2026, a 2.5-tonne replacement truck struck union members outside the CU Jinju logistics centre in Gyeongnam, killing comrade Seo Gwang-seok and injuring two others. Police were criticised for facilitating the entry and exit of replacement vehicles by forcefully pushing back workers, heightening the chaos and danger at the scene. The incident revealed replacement transport as a structural problem directly implicating workers' right to life.
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) general concept of strikebreaking; South Korea bans use of strikebreakers though practice remains common; ILO considers permanent replacement a grave jeopardy to trade union freedoms
- ilo.org ILO Principles Concerning the Right to Strike (1998): replacement of strikers considered justified only in essential services where strikes are forbidden and in acute national crises (paras. 570, 574)
- laborplus.co.kr 2026년 4월 20일 CU 진주물류센터 대체수송 차량 충돌로 서광석 동지 사망; 경찰이 대체수송 지원 과정에서 조합원 40명 강제 진압; 민주노총 '대체 수송 강행 결과가 노동자의 죽음' 성명
- klsi.org 한국노동사회연구소 2026년 3·4월 노동정세: CU 파업 중 대체 수송 투입과 노동자 사망을 '파업 파괴용 대체 수송 차량'으로 규정, 원청교섭 거부-대체수송-노동자 사망의 구조적 연결고리 분석