A truck drivers' union in South Korea has had to back down after a hostile government refused concessions, reports Deutsche Welle. The union has pledged to continue fighting for financial security for its members.

Thousands of South Korean truck drivers ended their strike on December 9, after a majority of union members voted to return to work, seeing little possibility of achieving their aims of securing financial protections amid rises in fuel prices.

The vote to end the 16-day strike came a day after Seoul ramped up its hardline approach against organized labor by expanding back-to-work orders for up to 10,000 drivers.

The Cargo Truckers Solidarity union, with its 26,000 members, had been calling on the government to expand a system of minimum pay for truck drivers as well but faced opposition from a well-prepared industrial sector and defiance from conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol.

It followed an eight-day strike in the summer that ended with both the union and the government claiming victory.