Subway Line No. 9, Korail unions call off strike after reaching tentative agreement
Published: 11 Dec. 2025, 09:03
Updated: 11 Dec. 2025, 12:37
![Passengers line up to get on the subway at VHS Medical Center Station, Line No. 9, on July 31, 2023. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/11/3a09c176-8e2e-4a68-88f1-fc385c3f5f07.jpg)
Passengers line up to get on the subway at VHS Medical Center Station, Line No. 9, on July 31, 2023. [NEWS1]
Subway and rail unions have called off strikes after reaching tentative labor deals, allowing trains to run as scheduled on Thursday on both Seoul’s Subway Line No. 9 and the Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail), which operates the KTX.
Seoul Metro, which operates parts of Subway Line No. 9, meaning between Eonju Station and VHS Medical Center Station, announced Thursday morning that it had reached a provisional agreement with the Line No. 9 branch of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union.
The deal came around 5 a.m., prompting the union to call off its planned walkout scheduled for the same day.
Negotiations had been ongoing since mediation by the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission broke down on Sept. 8. The two sides had been at odds over wage increases and personnel shortages.
Under the tentative deal, wages will be raised by 3 percent of total labor costs, with a long-term goal of aligning pay with that of employees on Lines No. 1 through No. 8. Labor and management also agreed to continue discussions on increasing manpower.
Choi Yong-ho, head of Line No. 9 operations at Seoul Metro, said the company “did its utmost in negotiations to avoid a strike and minimize disruptions for the public.”
Kim Seong-min, head of the union branch, added that the agreement was reached “on the foundation of mutual trust,” and vowed to maintain a healthy labor-management relationship.
The union will hold a ratification vote on the agreement, with the date yet to be determined. Separately, a labor deal has already been reached for the remaining part of Line No. 9, which is from Gaehwa to Sinnonhyeon Stations, and service on the entire line is operating as normal.
![A KTX train stands by at Seoul Station on March 26. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/11/be49cebd-6ce9-4768-8b0d-7f87af26a1bd.jpg)
A KTX train stands by at Seoul Station on March 26. [YONHAP]
Meanwhile, Korail said Thursday that all KTX trains would run as scheduled after the Korean Railway Workers’ Union decided to postpone a strike following a breakthrough in overnight talks.
The two sides reportedly reached common ground on key issues such as restoring performance-based bonuses.
“To minimize public inconvenience, we decided to defer strike action and focus on intensive negotiations,” a union official said, adding that talks were ongoing to resolve remaining differences over the details of wage demands.
Disagreement remains over the current bonus structure, which calculates performance-based pay at only 80 percent of base salary. The union has been demanding changes to the formula.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JI-HYE, SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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