VOA标准英语2008年-Costly Fuel, Anger at President Drive South Kor

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
17 June 2008

South Korea's biggest labor¹ confederation says its members will go on strike, next month, to protest the policies of the country's president. The labor troubles heap new crisis on an administration facing mass street protests about trade with the United States. VOA's Kurt Achin has more from Seoul.
　

South Korean truck drivers on strike, hold mock license2 plates during rally against oil prices, in Gwacheon, 17 Jun 2008

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions announced Tuesday it would conduct a nationwide general strike on July 2. And, KCTU president Lee Seok-haing says that is just the beginning.

Lee says after the strike, there will be several days of organized labor protests.

The KCTU is an umbrella union group for more than 600,000 members, working in nearly every sector³ of the country's economy.

Transport and construction workers have already been on strike since last week, costing South Korean businesses billions of dollars and clogging⁴ the country's container ports with unmoved cargo⁵.

Laborers⁶ want South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's administration to offer more assistance, in the face of skyrocketing fuel prices. They are also demanding President Lee nullify an unpopular American beef deal and rethink plans to privatize many South Korean businesses.

Senior South Korean officials say those demands overstep the bounds of legitimate⁷ strike activity.

South Korean Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han says the strikes are illegal because some of the demands have nothing to do with improving worker conditions. He says, if what he calls illegal activity continues, the government will have to take legal action against the labor groups.

President Lee - inaugurated only four months ago - has seen his approval ratings plummet⁸, since he agreed in April to a wide-ranging deal to resume imports of U.S. beef. Many South Koreans perceive American beef as posing a health risk, despite a lack of hard science to back their fears.

Tens of thousands of South Koreans have held massive street protests against the beef deal. They say President Lee has a disregard for public opinion, in a number of areas.

KCTU spokeswoman Woo Moon-sook says workers share the protesters' discontent.

She says the results of a union vote show a public sense of crisis about the way President Lee has been running the country's affairs.

President Lee rose to popularity as a hard-driving corporate⁹ chairman, but many South Koreans say he has much to learn about being an elected political leader. Mr. Lee's trade minister is in Washington, seeking a compromise on beef imports. The outcome of those talks may hold the key to easing both South Korea's street protests and its present labor unrest.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 clogging   

堵塞，闭合

参考例句：

• This process suffers mainly from clogging the membrane. 这种过程的主要问题是滤膜的堵塞。
• And you know that eyewitness that's been clogging up the airwaves? 你知道那个充斥着电视广播的目击证人？

5 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

6 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

7 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

8 plummet   

vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物

参考例句：

• Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来，蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
• Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌，其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。

9 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。