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Seoul city bus union announces January strike after failed wage negotiations

Published: 24 Dec. 2025, 14:09

Buses arrive at the Seoul Station bus transfer stop in Jung District, central Seoul, on May 28. [YONHAP]

The Seoul city bus union said it has decided to launch a full-scale strike on Jan. 13 next year after failing to narrow differences with management in wage negotiations.

The union announced Wednesday that the decision was made during a meeting of branch chiefs. It has secured the legal right to strike after mediation in wage and collective bargaining talks collapsed in May of this year.

The union claimed that although management issued a joint statement last month pledging to resolve unpaid wages based on a Seoul High Court ruling in the Dong-A Transportation case and to engage in good-faith negotiations, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and bus operators later reneged on the agreement. It said the employers are refusing to pay the overdue wages, citing a pending appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Dong-A Transportation dispute stems from a Seoul High Court ruling that included regular bonuses in bus drivers’ ordinary wages, effectively raising hourly pay and triggering demands for back pay across the industry.

The union also criticized management for proposing a “10 percent hourly wage increase” through the media, arguing that the offer is an attempt to sidestep the 12.85 percent hourly pay increase already confirmed by court rulings and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, amounting in effect to a wage cut.

The union added that if the Seoul city government and bus operators immediately pay the overdue wages in accordance with court decisions and corrective orders from the Labor Ministry and improve working conditions, it would be open to discussing the 2025 wage increase in line with public-sector pay raise standards.

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 JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]