Oh Se-hoon: "Bus strike hard to justify... Sorry for the inconvenience"

On the 28th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon urged a swift resolution to negotiations, calling the city bus union's general strike an unjustifiable act.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In a press release that day, Mayor Oh said, "We apologize for the inconvenience caused to citizens due to the bus strike. Seoul city buses, the means of transportation for citizens, literally support many people's livelihoods and daily lives," adding, "Any act that undermines public interest by holding citizens' daily lives hostage is difficult to justify for any reason."

Earlier, the Seoul city bus union and the bus operators' association entered final negotiations from the afternoon of the previous day until early morning but failed to reach an agreement on the wage increase rate. Consequently, the union launched a general strike starting at 4 a.m. that day.

On the 28th, when the Seoul city bus union went on a general strike for the first time in 12 years, buses were parked at a bus depot in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

Seoul City explained that it has been making every effort to promptly reach an agreement between labor and management and to maintain normal public transportation operations since before the strike was announced. However, more than 90% of bus services have been suspended six hours after the strike began at 4 a.m., causing severe inconvenience to citizens. The city also noted that the strike continued through the morning rush hour, when most citizens commute, resulting in significant difficulties on the ground.

Mayor Oh said, "I sincerely hope for a swift resolution through mutual concessions and active negotiations between labor and management so that public transportation can operate normally."

Meanwhile, Seoul City has formed an emergency response headquarters since the previous day to alleviate citizen inconvenience caused by the city bus strike and is monitoring the situation in real time.