A two-day strike by Seoul’s city bus drivers ended late Wednesday after labor and management reached a last-minute deal, restoring full service early Thursday and easing disruptions that had left millions of commuters scrambling amid freezing winter conditions.
The Seoul City Bus Labor Union and the Seoul Bus Transport Business Association finalized a tentative wage agreement shortly before midnight following nearly nine hours of talks mediated by the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission. Both sides accepted a compromise proposal drafted by public arbitrators, averting what city officials warned could have escalated into a prolonged transportation crisis.
Under the agreement, bus drivers’ wages will rise by 2.9% in 2025—higher than the 0.5% offered in an earlier mediation round but slightly below the union’s initial demand of 3%. The deal also includes a phased increase in the mandatory retirement age from 63 to 65 by mid-2027.
The strike’s abrupt end underscored the political and social limits of labor action in essential public services. With nearly all of Seoul’s roughly 7,000 city buses halted on the first day of the strike, the operating rate plunged into single digits, severely disrupting commutes for office workers, students and elderly residents reliant on public transport.
In South Korea, where public transportation is deeply embedded in daily life, such disruptions can quickly erode public sympathy. Several government officials privately acknowledged that the mounting inconvenience risked turning public opinion against the union, weakening its bargaining position the longer the strike continued.
“The pressure wasn’t just economic—it was public,” said one official involved in the mediation. “When citizens feel they are being held hostage, the mood shifts very quickly.”
As part of the settlement, a controversial city-run operational inspection system—previously targeted for abolition by the union—will instead be reviewed by a joint task force involving labor, management and city officials, effectively deferring a decision on one of the most contentious issues.
The Seoul city government lifted emergency transportation measures early Thursday, returning subway schedules and substitute services to normal and discontinuing temporary district-run shuttle buses.
Union leader Park Jeom-gon apologized to commuters for the disruption, while Kim Jeong-hwan, head of the bus operators’ association, said the agreement brought relief to both riders and operators. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon welcomed the deal, emphasizing the need to prevent future disruptions to essential public services and pledging stronger communication channels.
Behind the strike lay a broader legal and structural dispute over wages. Negotiations had stalled for months over how recent court rulings—particularly a Supreme Court decision expanding the definition of “ordinary wages” to include certain bonuses—should be reflected in pay structures.
Bus operators warned that applying the rulings wholesale could sharply raise labor costs and pushed for restructuring wages by folding bonuses into base pay. The union rejected that approach, arguing that compensation stemming from court decisions should be resolved through legal proceedings rather than collective bargaining.
After rejecting an initial mediation proposal, the union launched the strike Tuesday following several rounds of work-to-rule actions. But analysts say the decision to escalate carried reputational risks in a city where public tolerance for transport shutdowns is limited.
Renewed talks produced a compromise, though the most sensitive issue—wage system reform—was ultimately left out of the agreement, leaving open the possibility of renewed tensions once the Supreme Court issues final rulings in pending cases.
Among South Korea’s major cities operating semi-public bus systems, Seoul remains the only one that has yet to comprehensively overhaul its wage structure—a sign that the underlying dispute is unresolved.
For now, the episode serves as a reminder that while labor unions retain leverage in essential services, prolonged strikes that disrupt daily life can quickly generate public backlash—reshaping the balance of power at the negotiating table.
