The workers are demanding:

A five-day week No pay cuts End to privatisation plans

Assembly lines at the country's two biggest car manufacturers, Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors fell silent as union members downed tools for a four-hour protest in support of a second day of public-sector action.

Union leaders said it was unclear if the wider protests would be repeated on Wednesday.

Illegal and violent acts must be sternly dealt with

President Kim Dae-jung

The government says the strike is illegal and has issued arrest warrants for 36 trade union leaders, some of whom have taken refuge at a church in the centre of the capital, Seoul.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said 130,000 members walked out for protest rallies in 22 cities. The Korea Employers Federation disputed the figure, saying 50,000 KCTU members took part.

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung told a cabinet meeting the government must seek a dialogue with the unions and act with patience, although he said "illegal and violent acts must be sternly dealt with".

'Commuter war'

The dispute meant more travel problems for commuters on Tuesday. About half of all passenger and freight rail journeys were cancelled, forcing traffic onto the roads and jamming major routes.

The media dubbed it "commuter war".

The country is undergoing painful economic restructuring

In Seoul, thousands of riot police surrounded two university campuses occupied by 8,000 public sector workers.

Colleges are traditional rallying points for anti-government activists, which correspondents say is a legacy of the pro-democracy student movement and the reluctance of police to enter campuses.

But a strike by gas-industry employees has been called off after their leaders agreed to hold discussions with management.

Escalating action

The strike is supported by the country's two trade union umbrella groups.

Commuters have been hit hard by the strike

They are calling on the government to shelve its plans to privatise the services, which they fear will lead to mass lay-offs.

They are also calling for improved working conditions, including the introduction of a five-day working week without a pay cut.

Many South Koreans work six days a week, despite laws mandating a 44-hour working week, and last year, the average worker put in 20.4 hours overtime a week.

The unions say they will continue their strike unless their demands are met.

The financial markets shrugged off the strike, pushing the Korean share index above 800 for the first time in 19 months.