Commute Worries on the 'Jiokcheol'... Subway Strike and Jeonjangyeon Protest Included

Labor Negotiations Fail, Seoul Subway Begins Full Strike Today
‘Jeonjangyeon’ Protests Held Daily at 8 AM and 2 PM Until December 2
Seoul City: "Deploying Replacement Workers... Normal Service During Commute Hours"

On the morning of the 29th, one day before the scheduled Seoul subway strike, citizens using the subway are exiting Gwanghwamun Station in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] As the Seoul Metro Labor Union went on a general strike on the 30th, congestion is expected during the morning commute due to the overlapping subway protests by the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Disability Discrimination (Jeonjangyeon).

The joint negotiation team of the two major labor unions of the Seoul Metro held a send-off ceremony at 10:40 a.m. at the west side of Seoul City Hall and began the general strike. The Seoul Metro management and labor held last-minute negotiations on wages and collective agreements the day before but failed to narrow their differences.

The core issue in the negotiations was whether to implement workforce restructuring (reducing 1,539 employees by 2026). The management proposed postponing the restructuring this year and implementing the previously agreed long-term vacancy staffing and crew increase by the first half of next year. The Seoul Metro Labor Union and the integrated union affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions continued discussions until the last minute but ultimately decided to reject the proposal. Seoul Metro operates subway lines 1 to 8 and phases 2 and 3 of line 9 (Sinnonhyeon to Central Veterans Hospital). This strike is the first in six years since 2016.

During the strike, operation rates will drop to 53.5% on line 1 compared to weekdays. Line 2 main line will operate at 72.9%, line 3 at 57.9%, line 4 at 56.4%, and lines 5 to 8 at 79.8%. The expected operation rate on holidays will be reduced to about half.

To minimize citizen inconvenience caused by the strike, Seoul City plans to deploy substitute personnel to minimize service disruptions. The goal is to operate normally at usual levels during the morning commute and at 85.7% of normal levels during the evening commute. The city has secured about 13,000 personnel, approximately 83% of the usual workforce, mainly retirees and subcontractor employees.

Additionally, 183 employees have been assigned as station support staff. The city also plans to reduce intervals between city buses. However, train operation rates during daytime are expected to be about 72% of normal, and about 85% during the evening commute.

The city's Emergency Transportation Countermeasures Headquarters will maintain a cooperative system with Seoul Metro, Korail, bus companies, local districts, and the police until the strike ends and will implement emergency measures as needed. Baek Ho, Director of Seoul City Urban Transportation Office, said, "We will make every effort to mobilize transportation capacity to minimize inconvenience to citizens using public transportation," and added, "We hope labor and management will each make concessions to quickly reach an agreement so that citizens do not suffer inconvenience in using the subway."

However, despite these measures, subway publicity campaigns by Jeonjangyeon are also scheduled, making morning commute congestion inevitable. Jeonjangyeon recently decided to increase the number of subway publicity campaigns from once to twice a day. It is known that Jeonjangyeon will hold protests twice daily at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. until the 2nd of next month.

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