Gyeonggi-do Restores 'Limited License' for Airport Buses After 2 Years

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi-do airport buses have reverted to 'restricted licenses.' This comes two years after changing to 'general licenses' in 2018.

A restricted license is a type of operating license issued only for bus routes with low ridership that cannot generate profits. In the case of airport buses, Gyeonggi-do holds the authority to issue restricted licenses.

Transportation companies with restricted licenses can set their own fares reflecting reasonable profits, unlike intercity licenses where fares are determined by the distance-based rate system set by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

On the 20th, Gyeonggi-do announced that it held a signing ceremony for a labor-management agreement on full employment maintenance between Gyeonggi Airport Limousine Co., Ltd. and the Yongnam Airport Limousine Labor Union at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office.

Previously, during the tenure of former Governor Nam Kyung-pil in 2018, the province refused to renew the restricted license for Gyeonggi Airport Limousine, which had operated airport buses in the Suwon area for over 20 years, and issued a general license to Yongnam Airport Limousine.

Gyeonggi Airport Limousine filed a lawsuit against this decision, and on June 11, the Supreme Court ruled that "Gyeonggi-do's refusal to renew the restricted license for the airport bus constitutes an abuse and deviation of discretionary power and is illegal."

Accordingly, the province has been promoting the renewal of the restricted license for Gyeonggi Airport Limousine.

During this process, the reemployment of 156 transportation workers employed by Yongnam Airport Limousine at Gyeonggi Airport Limousine became a major issue.

Initially, Yongnam Airport Limousine stated that accepting all employees was difficult due to labor cost burdens amid a 90% drop in airport bus passengers caused by COVID-19, while the labor side strongly opposed and launched a tough struggle.

In response, the province facilitated continuous dialogue and mediation between labor and management to narrow their differences, and finally agreed to maintain full employment on this day.

Lee Kyung-seop, Executive Director of Gyeonggi Airport Limousine and representative of the management negotiation team, explained, "Although the company is facing difficulties, Chairman Shin Yoo-chul decided to accept the labor side's proposal in full to find a way to stabilize the company together with the employees who have been like family for over ten years."

Lee Ki-chun, Chairman of the Gyeonggi Branch of the National Automobile Labor Union Federation and representative of the labor union, said, "To normalize the company, we will persuade union members to make concessions where necessary and work to restore trust between labor and management."

Following this labor-management agreement, the province plans to complete all administrative preparations such as fare approval and transportation facility inspections and resume operations next month.

Park Tae-hwan, Director of the Transportation Bureau of Gyeonggi-do, stated, "Restoring the restricted license will enable securing public interest, a core of Governor Lee Jae-myung's 7th-term bus policy. Since both labor and management found a win-win solution through concessions and compromise despite difficulties caused by COVID-19, Gyeonggi-do will actively consider support measures to maintain a stable employment environment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.