Mokpo Mayor Park Hong-ryul Strongly Urges City Bus Companies to Prepare Drastic Management Improvement Plans

[Mokpo=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jeong Hyeong-seok] Mayor Park Hong-ryul of Mokpo strongly urged Taewon Passenger and Yujin Transportation to prepare drastic management measures.

On the 17th, Mayor Park expressed his gratitude to the citizens who have endured inconvenience for a long time and shared the background of the agreement, which centers on the withdrawal of the city bus strike, as well as future plans.

Mayor Park stated, “The demand for strike withdrawal was very high among workers without private cars commuting to work, elderly visiting hospitals and markets, students, parents with two or more children going to different schools, and residents in transportation-disadvantaged areas. Especially with the winter heavy snow preparations and the 2023 College Scholastic Ability Test approaching, these demands grew stronger over time.” He added, “We could not overlook the increasing inconvenience to citizens, so we signed the agreement to ensure an early end to the strike. Mokpo City considered the livelihood of bus workers, and the union conceded 50% of their demands.”

In particular, he explained, “The wage compensation for the adjustment of full attendance days was decided to be for six months, a shorter period than other cities in Jeonnam, compared to the union’s demand for one year.” He added, “Yeosu, Suncheon, and Gwangyang agreed on the adjustment of full attendance days last year and have been supporting wage compensation since January last year, but Mokpo reduced the financial burden by applying it retroactively from July this year.”

Regarding the deduction of financial support for the 29 days of city bus non-operation during the strike period, he said, “We will hold a separate City Bus Financial Deliberation Committee, a legal procedure, and follow its resolution.”

Regarding future plans, Mayor Park said, “We will prepare normalization measures based on the fundamental principle of city buses serving the citizens as we have upheld so far. Responding to the earnest wishes of the citizens, we will promote a comprehensive reorganization, including route reductions, linked with the ongoing service, so that the improvement plan the company will present by the end of December becomes a realistic measure for normalizing public transportation.”

He emphasized, “If the company’s management improvement plan is insufficient, we will keep all possibilities open and review from the beginning to prepare the optimal city bus operation plan that citizens desire.”

Finally, Mayor Park urged Taewon Passenger and Yujin Transportation, “Please present drastic management improvement plans such as route returns, vehicle reductions, and personnel adjustments by December 31. Without painful self-sacrifice, normalization of city buses is far from reach.”