Oh Se-hoon Urges Bus Union, "Do Not Put Citizens in Fear" Over Planned Strike

Union Demands "Do Not Align with Citizens' Expectations"
Ordinary Wage Dispute... "Related Lawsuits Still Pending"
"Amend the Law to Designate City Buses as an Essential Public Service"

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized the Seoul city bus labor union's planned strike, saying, "Do not threaten the public with insecurity by putting an all-out strike at the forefront," and pointed out that the union's demands "do not align with citizens' expectations."

On the afternoon of September 14, through a Facebook post, Mayor Oh stated, "The city bus union has announced that it will go on a full strike if wage negotiations do not proceed as they wish," adding, "It is absolutely abnormal for citizens to be forced to worry about their commutes twice a year because of such disruptions."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is announcing the G3 Seoul Plan at Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul on September 10, 2026. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

Regarding the main issue of 'ordinary wage,' Mayor Oh said, "There is still legal dispute over the calculation of working hours for ordinary wage, as related lawsuits are ongoing," indicating that further discussion is needed. Currently, the union is demanding both that the standard calculation time for ordinary wage be set at 176 hours per month, and that the hourly wage be raised by an additional 7.85%.

However, Mayor Oh criticized that accepting the union's demands would result in the annual salary of a long-serving city bus driver rising from about 68 million won last year to up to 85 million won, an increase of nearly 20 million won at once. Mayor Oh asserted, "A rapid wage increase within just one year would be hard for any company to bear, and it is also not in line with citizens’ expectations, as the burden will eventually fall upon them."

He also voiced concerns about the inconvenience the bus strike would cause to citizens. Mayor Oh said, "Seoul city buses are a vital means of transportation for about 3.8 million people daily and must never come to a halt," and noted that "if the buses stop, those living far from subway stations and people with transportation vulnerabilities will be the first and hardest hit."

Mayor Oh once again stressed Seoul City’s longstanding request to the central government to designate city buses as an "essential public service." He explained, "Currently, railways, subways, and aviation are designated as essential public services, ensuring minimum service through essential personnel even during strikes. However, even though city buses are just as essential to daily life, they are not designated as such, meaning a total strike is possible under the current system."

He continued, "We can no longer tolerate a structure in which the daily lives of citizens are repeatedly threatened by the prospect of a strike every time city bus wage negotiations take place. The government and National Assembly must act immediately to amend the law, so that city buses are designated as an essential public service, before it is too late."

In preparation for the bus strike scheduled for September 16, Seoul City has put emergency transportation measures into effect. First, the city plans to expand the operation of free shuttle buses (chartered buses), which were deployed with about 700 vehicles during the strike in January, to up to 1,500 vehicles this time. Of these, around 200 vehicles will be dispatched along major arterial roads to support inter-district travel. If the strike is prolonged, the number of shuttle buses on major routes will be increased further.

In addition, the 25 autonomous districts of Seoul will operate up to 1,300 free shuttle buses connecting key hubs and residential areas to subway stations. Furthermore, to support residents in transportation-poor areas and facilitate smooth commuting, Seoul will add 10 free shuttle routes with about 200 additional vehicles along major arterial roads such as Gangnam-daero, Tongil-ro, and Dobong-ro.

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