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11th-hour deal keeps trains running as rail workers' union, Finance Ministry come to agreement

Published: 23 Dec. 2025, 20:33 Updated: 23 Dec. 2025, 21:14

Trains are seen parked at a lot in Guro District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 22. [YONHAP]

A nationwide rail workers' strike was averted on Tuesday after the Ministry of Economy and Finance approved a plan to raise performance-based bonuses for the Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail), effectively ending the standoff without service disruptions. All trains operated as scheduled, and the feared transportation chaos was avoided.

At a meeting of the public institution management committee held on Tuesday, the Finance Ministry proposed and passed a plan to gradually increase the performance bonus calculation from the current 80 percent of base salary to 90 percent starting next year, and to 100 percent starting in 2027, a move Korail management has expressed support for.

The decision marked a partial acceptance of the Korean Railway Workers’ Union’s demand that Korail be brought in line with other public institutions, which base performance bonuses on 100 percent of base salary.

The union had earlier announced what would have been the largest rail strike in its history, with more than 12,000 workers set to walk off the job starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

“Preparations are complete,” the union had said on Monday. “We are prepared to stake our future on this strike.”

The union has long argued that it was unfairly penalized in 2009 when it implemented the government’s revised wage system one year late. As a result, the Finance Ministry imposed a penalty capping Korail’s bonus standard at 80 percent — a policy that has remained unchanged for 15 years.

People use trains at Seoul Station in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Dec. 23, the day an expected railway strike was averted. [NEWS1]

By comparison, the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation, which also failed to meet the implementation deadline at the time, saw its bonus standard restored to 100 percent after just one year.

The union cited this as a clear case of unequal treatment. The ministry, however, had previously refused to revise the cap, citing concerns over fiscal burden.

Korail management, for its part, sympathized with the union's demand to revise the bonus standards, emphasizing that the longstanding issue is rooted in conflict between labor and the Finance Ministry, not with management itself.

"For 15 years, different bonus standards have reduced employees’ real income and lifetime earnings. The continued dispute over this issue has triggered serious labor-management conflict for years, to the point that it has disrupted stable rail operations annually,” a statement from management said earlier in the week.

The breakthrough came in the early hours on Tuesday, when the government offered a compromise: It would propose to the committee that Korail bonuses be raised to 90 percent of base pay next year, and to 100 percent by 2027.

People use the trains at Seoul Station in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Dec. 23, the day an expected railway strike was averted. [NEWS1]

In response, the union agreed to suspend its planned strike and await the outcome of the committee’s decision. With the proposal officially approved later that day, the long-standing conflict was resolved.

Following the committee’s vote, the union announced that it would withdraw the strike. The union’s expanded strike response committee discussed the withdrawal on Tuesday and plans to hold a general vote among members from Saturday to Monday for final ratification.

“We sincerely apologize to the public for the concerns caused by the strike announcement during the year-end season,” the union said. “We are deeply grateful for your concern and support. In return, railway workers will do our utmost to ensure a safer public railway system.”

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 JUN-YOUNG [[email protected]]