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Police say man who rammed truck into union members saw crowd, didn't brake

Published: 22 Apr. 2026, 18:45

Protesting truckers from a labor union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions clash with police officers in front of BGF Logis's warehouse in South Gyeongsang on April 20. [YONHAP]

The man who killed one and injured two labor union members by ramming a cargo truck into the rally drove into the crowd without braking despite having seen the people, police said Wednesday.

On Monday, the driver killed a protester and injured two others by hitting the three with 2.5-ton truck in front of a logistics center in Jinju, South Gyeongsang. The three victims were from cargo truckers' labor group under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions holding a rally outside a CU logistics center.

The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency and the prosecution service applied for an arrest warrant against the driver on charges of murder. The offender was arrested on site with charges of inflicting special bodily injury. The unresponsive victim, identified by the surname Seo, was transported to a nearby hospital and later died.

Police assessed that the driver had carried willful negligence after analyzing the truck’s digital tachograph data and reviewing the footage of the accident and witnesses’ statements. Authorities determined that he continued driving despite knowledge of the risk of a deadly accident.

Video footage shows that the vehicle continued moving for about 10 seconds despite five to six union members attempting to deter the truck’s reckless dash. The driver was found to have stepped on the brake right after the truck — driven at speed of 16 kilometers (9.3 miles) per hour — ran over people.

“I was too flustered and failed to think that I should stop,” the offender said, while admitting people in front of the truck were visible. “I did not have any intention to hurt people.”

The driver had been working as a substitute for a delivery worker rallying as part of the union, and was dispatched from Busan starting from Sunday.

Footage showing the scene where a truck ran into protesting truckers [SCREEN CAPTURE]

On the day of the accident, the union members were demanding negotiation rights in a rally in front of the Jinju CU logistics center, managed by BGF Logis. BGF Logis is a subsidiary of BGF Retail, which operates the CU convenience store chain.

The protesters had blocked delivery vehicles from entering and exiting the warehouse. Police said they are also investigating whether the driver acted under instructions from the company or in coordination with others.

Authorities have also sought detention warrants against two union members who allegedly threatened police officers during the protest.

One of them allegedly drove a van toward police officers overseeing the rally at around 1:33 p.m. on Monday. A police officer suffered a forehead injury after being struck by the van. Two other officers were also injured, in the waist and knee, while attempting to subdue the van driver.

Law enforcement applied criminal charges of obstructing official duties.

Truckers protest against BGF Logis in front of a logistics center in South Gyeongsang on April 21. [YONHAP]

Another union member faces the same charges after allegedly brandishing a weapon and threatening officers while threatening to self-harm at the protest site at around 10 p.m. on Sunday.

Police also booked two additional union members without detention on charges of obstructing public duties as the two defendants tried to hamper law enforcement from arresting the van driver and the person who caused a self-harm disturbance.

The trucker union members issued a statement condemning the police response, saying police officers “provoked the protesters first and staged excessively suppressive measures against them.”

“The accidents were caused by allowing replacement vehicles to operate without adequate safety measures in place,” the union members said.

The union has staged rallies nationwide calling for joint negotiations with BGF Logis over higher transportation fees since March 30.

Labor union members representing cargo truckers enter a room for working-level negotiations with BGF Logis at a hotel in Daejeon on April 22. [NEWS1]

BGF Logis, however, has maintained that the company cannot intervene in their hiring contracts as delivery drivers are classified as workers on a special form of employment — known as tripartite contracts between logistics centers and transport companies.

BGF Logis runs 37 logistics centers nationwide, supplying goods to stores through contracts with regional transport companies. Delivery drivers sign individual contracts with those local transport firms and are paid delivery fees accordingly.

The labor organization said it would hold an initial round of talks with BGF Logis on Wednesday. Representatives of both parties were scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. at the regional office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor in South Gyeongsang’s Jinju, with working-level talks at 5 p.m. near Daejeon Station.

BY AN DAE-HUN [[email protected]]