Both Labor and Management "Do Not Want Disruptions to the College Entrance Exam"... Will the Seoul Subway Strike Be Resolved Through Dialogue?

Labor and Management "Will Continue Dialogue Until Strike"
'Essential Services Agreement' Signed Situation

As the Seoul Metro Labor Union has announced a general strike on the 9th of next month, attention is focused on whether it will also negatively affect the '2024 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT)' scheduled for the 16th, one week after the strike begins. For now, both labor and management have expressed their commitment to doing their best to prepare an agreement to prevent confusion during the CSAT. However, concerns have been raised that the conflict may prolong since the 'personnel reduction plan,' which is difficult to compromise on, remains the core issue.

Representatives of the two major labor unions of Seoul Metro held a press conference on the 18th at Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul City Hall, announcing that they will go on a general strike to prevent workforce reduction. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

Lee Yang-seop, chairman of the Seoul Metro Integrated Labor Union, said at a press conference held in front of Seoul City Hall on the 18th, in response to questions about confusion caused by the strike during the CSAT, "We are striking to prevent personnel reductions, but the union does not want to cause inconvenience to citizens." He added, "To maximize the strike's effect, it would be ideal to align it with the CSAT, but to avoid inconveniencing test-takers, we deliberately set the date a week earlier, on the 9th of next month. Since it could cause massive social disruption, we will sincerely engage in dialogue before the strike to reach an agreement."

The Metro Corporation shares a similar stance with the union. A Metro official said, "The corporation also does not want this strike to negatively impact the CSAT," adding, "We will continue dialogue with the union as much as possible until the scheduled general strike on the 9th of next month."

Both labor and management have stated that they will continue negotiations and practical discussions until the day before the strike, on the 8th of next month. Chairman Lee said, "We will maintain dialogue with the corporation through all possible channels until the negotiation on the 8th of next month."

The union also postponed its strike schedule last year considering the CSAT. Last year, the union planned to start a lawful struggle from November 16th but postponed it to the 24th, taking into account that the CSAT was on the 17th of the same month. Later, in protest against the corporation's personnel reduction plan, the union launched a general strike on the 30th of the same month, but the strike ended after just one day as labor and management reached a dramatic agreement on the day.

Even if the union goes on strike, it is unlikely that a commuting chaos will occur in the short term. On the 25th of last month, labor and management signed the 'Essential Services Practical Agreement.' According to the emergency transportation measures under the agreement, the corporation and the union will maintain personnel operations at 64% of normal levels. Additionally, Lines 1 to 4 will operate at 65.7%, and Lines 5 to 8 at 78.1% compared to normal operations.

However, during commuting hours (07:00?09:00), operations will run at 100%. A corporation official said, "Although specific countermeasures for this year's strike have not yet been announced, it is expected to be maintained similarly to last year." During last year's strike, the corporation aimed for a 100% operation rate during commuting hours and 72.7% during normal hours.

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