Unionized rail workers went on a four-day general strike Thursday, their first collective action in about four years, which is expected to reduce passenger and freight train services by up to 60 percent.
The Korean Railway Workers' Union kicked off the walkout at 9 a.m. nationwide, demanding better working conditions and an expansion of KTX high-speed train services to include a lucrative station in southern Seoul.
The strike, set to last until 9 a.m. Monday, is the first since the last one in November of 2019.
Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL), the national railway operator, plans to reduce the operations of passenger trains, including the high-speed KTX service, and cargo trains by 20-60 percent in the wake of the strike.
The collective action is intended to pressure the transport ministry to come to the dialogue table on allowing KTX trains, run by KORAIL, to access Suseo Station, the starting station of another high-speed train service called Super Rapid Train (SRT).
KTX and SRT, run by SR Corp., start at Seoul Station and Suseo Station, respectively, and use different routes to Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of the capital, on the way to the southern cities of Busan and Mokpo.
The union said an integration of KTX and SRT services will help with seat shortages and fare costs, raising suspicion that their separate operations, as well as the ministry's apparent preferential treatment of SR Corp. may be a step toward the privatization of railways.
The union is also demanding better working conditions, such as the full implementation of the four-team two-shift system that the company has agreed to introduce to ensure that rail workers do not work the night shift for two days in a row.
KORAIL plans to mobilize replacement workers to ensure KTX and other train services run at 70 percent of the normal capacity during the morning and evening rush hours to minimize public inconvenience.
On Wednesday, Labor Minister Lee Jeong-sik urged unionized rail workers to cancel their plan to stage a general strike, citing its grave impact on the economy and the people's daily lives.
No major transportation disruptions were reported although trains on subway Line 1, co-operated by KORAIL, were delayed slightly in the morning rush hour while operations of freight trains slowed down.
"My train that was supposed to arrive at 8:19 a.m. did not come until 8:24 a.m.," a university student who uses the subway line told Yonhap News Agency. The student had to skip the train when it finally arrived because it was too full of passengers and got onto the next train.
Operations of freight trains connecting to the inland container depot in Uiwang, 21 kilometers south of Seoul, which is a major freight hub in the capital area, also fell to 50 percent of full capacity.
Source: Yonhap News Agency