President Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday he believes the country has "waited long enough" for a strike at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) to end, hinting at the possibility of using force to break up the prolonged walkout.

Subcontract workers at DSME have been striking since June 2, leading to a standstill in shipbuilding operations and causing up to trillions of won in losses for the company.

The workers have demanded higher wages and occupied the firm's shipyard on Geoje Island, South Gyeongsang Province.

"When it comes to industrial sites and labor-management relations, illegal actions by either labor or management should not be left unattended or tolerated," Yoon told reporters when asked if he plans to use force to end the strike. "Besides, I think the people and the government have all waited long enough."

He made clear Monday that the rule of law must be established in labor-management relations and called for an end to illegal actions at industrial sites.

The government held an emergency meeting the same day to discuss measures to cope with the strike and issued a statement warning of a "stern" response should it continue without a resolution.

Yoon was asked Tuesday whether he plans to discuss additional sanctions on North Korea when he meets with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at his office later in the day.

"We won't be talking about an agreed-upon agenda," he said, "but rather about the details of expanding the South Korea-US alliance from a political-security alliance to an economic security alliance -- about making progress on the agreement I reached with President Biden when he last visited South Korea."

Yoon's approval rating has steadily declined in recent weeks to hover just above the 30 percent mark.

When asked what he thinks is the reason, Yoon asked back, "Isn't the reason well known by the press?

"If we knew the reason, any administration would have done well," he added. "We just keep working hard." (Yonhap)