Thousands of South Korea's unionized truck drivers and construction workers staged a rally Monday in the capital Seoul, calling on the government to address rising fuel costs, the Yonhap news agency reported.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    SEOUL, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of South Korea's unionized truck drivers and construction workers staged a rally Monday in the capital Seoul, calling on the government to address rising fuel costs, the Yonhap news agency reported.

    The police estimated that about 8,000 people participated the rally, while organizers put the number at 13,000.

Thousands of South Korea's unionized truck drivers and construction workers staged a rally Monday in the capital Seoul, calling on the government to address rising fuel costs, the Yonhap news agency reported.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The rally was held after 22,000 dump truck drivers, about 40 percent of South Korea's dump truck drivers, went on a strike from midnight calling on the government to increase fuel subsidies and guarantee a minimum wage.

    On Friday, about 13,000 unionized truckers began a strike at South Korea's major ports, including the country's largest in the southeastern city of Busan, threatening to paralyze container traffic and demanding fuel costs be lowered.

    Container traffic dropped to less than 50 percent of normal capacity on average while exports worth 1.69 billion U.S. dollars and imports worth 1.78 billion dollars were stalled as of Monday, according to the government.

    The protesters also wore banners criticizing President Lee Myung-bak for his April agreement with Washington to resume U.S. beef imports despite public concerns over mad cow disease.

    Tens of thousands of South Koreans have held candlelight rallies across the nation since early May, accusing the government of kowtowing to the U.S. and threatening public health for economic gains.

    Truck drivers also threatened to join hands with candlelight protesters in an effort to pressure the Lee government to accept their demands.

    "Following the two-day rally, we will determine whether we should continue with our nationwide strike after watching the government's action," said Jun Jae-hee, an official of the Korean Federation of Construction Industry Trade Unions.

    The strike was the latest blow to President Lee, who stepped into office in February after a landslide election victory two months earlier.