Seoul City Bus Strike Suspended... Normal Operation from 3 PM

Agreement Reached on 4.48% Wage Increase Rate

With the negotiation between labor and management of Seoul city buses reaching an agreement, all bus routes will operate normally from 3 p.m.

Seoul City announced on the 28th that after continuous communication and mediation efforts, labor and management reached an agreement around 3 p.m. on a wage increase rate of 4.48% and a holiday allowance of 650,000 KRW. Previously, labor and management of city buses in Busan, Daegu, and Ulsan also concluded negotiations with a wage increase rate of 4.48%.

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 garage in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

Accordingly, Seoul City immediately lifted the emergency transportation measures that had been prepared in anticipation of the strike and began normal operation of public transportation. The planned extension of substitute transportation such as subways and charter buses will be changed to the current operation.

In the final adjustment held at the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission the previous day, the union demanded a 12.7% increase, while the bus association proposed a 2.5% increase, resulting in a breakdown of negotiations. The mediation body, the Regional Labor Relations Commission, proposed a 6.1% increase to both parties the previous day, but this was also rejected, leading the union to initiate a strike from 4 a.m. that day.