Ruling Party: "Railroad Union Strike is a Clear Political and Nuisance Strike"

"Expansion of Public Railways, Ultimately Aiming to Establish a Monopoly System Without Competition"

The People Power Party strongly criticized the nationwide strike by the Korea Railroad Workers' Union that began the previous day on the 15th, calling it a "clear political strike and a nuisance strike that holds people's livelihoods hostage."

On the afternoon of the 15th, Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, said at a floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly, "The core demand of the railroad union to integrate the Seoul Station-based KTX and Suseo Station-based SRT is a request for a policy change, not an improvement in working conditions, and is not even subject to negotiation."

Yoon also rebutted the railroad union's claim that the expansion of the SRT line is a "step toward privatization," saying, "We urge the political strike aimed at protecting the railroad monopoly system to be stopped immediately."

On the 15th, as the temporary strike by the National Railroad Workers' Union continues, a train is stopped near the 수도권 Railroad Vehicle Maintenance Unit in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

He said, "The railroad union claims that operating SRT and KTX separately and expanding SRT lines such as the Donghae, Gyeongjeon, and Jeolla lines from the 1st of this month are long-term steps toward privatization. However, since SRT has already been operating for seven years, this is nonsense, and the line expansion is only for residents who had difficulty accessing Seoul's Gangnam area due to the lack of lines other than KTX. The government is not considering privatization at all."

He added, "The public railroad expansion that the railroad union advocates may seem plausible on the surface, but ultimately it aims to create a monopoly without competition by having KTX absorb SRT. The expected net loss of Korail over the next three years is close to 1.2 trillion won, and its debt is expected to approach 20 trillion won by 2027. Who among the public would support a strike that refuses reform and only seeks to protect their own interests?"

Lee Yang-su, the senior deputy floor leader, also pointed out, "(Due to the strike) many citizens have experienced confusion and inconvenience, and the operation rate of freight trains has dropped to the 20% range, raising serious concerns about logistics disruptions ahead of the Chuseok holiday."

He said, "Before the launch of SRT in 2016, Korea's high-speed rail suffered from frequent accidents and poor service," and urged the union to stop the strike, noting, "There is much analysis that the railroad union is staging this strike to return to the past when there was no competition in service between SRT and others."

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