SEOUL, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- With the South Korean rail strike nearly a week old, union negotiators and management at the national railroad company remained far apart, officials said.
The strike has crippled freight transportation, idling 70 percent of the trains, the Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday. About 40 percent of passenger trains have been canceled as KORAIL struggles to keep them running using non-union employees, soldiers and retirees.
Industries like coal and cement have felt the impact of the cuts in freight rail traffic.
The walkout began Thursday with 16,000 employees striking over a restructuring that would cut salaries and the workforce.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Huh Jun-young, KORAIL's chief executive, have taken a hard line on the strikers, calling the walkout illegal and saying they would not give in to union demands.
A rally in Seoul drew 4,000 union members Wednesday afternoon.
"As the strike is prolonged, voices are rapidly growing over the safety of trains," Lee Chung-ryul, a union leader, told the rally. "The matter cannot be resolved through suppression. Given the opportunities to talk, we will open all possibilities to resolve the strike."
