December 9, 2025
SEOUL – Public transportation in Seoul faces a risk of major disruptions in the coming weeks as unionized workers across all subway lines and the city’s bus system move toward a general strike over wage increases and staffing shortages.
According to the three labor unions of Seoul Metro, the operator of Subway Lines Nos. 1-8, final negotiations with management are scheduled for Thursday. The unions are calling for additional hiring and a wage hike.
All three unions have completed the legal procedures needed to strike, set to start on Friday. It raises the prospect of the first-ever joint walkout involving all three groups, which together represent 86 percent of Seoul Metro’s workforce.
The Seoul Transit Corporation Labor Union, whose members make up 57 percent of all employees, argues that Seoul Metro’s plan to reduce staff by 2,200 members following a halt in new hiring has pushed job vacancies to a level that threatens both safety and service quality.
The union is also demanding a 3 percent wage increase this year, in line with the government’s guideline, while management has maintained a proposal of 1.8 percent.
The three unions have been staging a work-to-rule protest since Dec. 1, limiting operational flexibility by strictly adhering to regulated stop times and only performing explicitly required tasks. The action has already led to slower commute times across the network.
Separately, the union for Subway Line No. 9, which operates between Eonju Station and VHS Medical Center Station, also announced a general strike beginning Friday, saying the line’s management failed to follow through on its promise to hire 55 additional staff.
Seoul’s bus union has reportedly begun the preliminary steps for a potential strike. The union previously postponed a walkout planned for the day before the 2026 Suneung on Nov. 13.
It has since called on bus operators to pay outstanding ordinary wages and delayed interest, following an October ruling by the Seoul High Court that regular bonuses must be included in ordinary wage calculations.