81.3% of Seoul Residents Oppose Bus Strike, Less Than 10% in Favor

43.0% Say They "Strongly Oppose" the Strike

As the Seoul city bus labor union has announced a strike that is set to begin at 4 a.m. on September 16, a recent survey shows that more than 8 out of 10 Seoul residents are opposed to the strike.

Amid the Seoul city bus union's approval of a strike through a member vote and the planned full strike starting on the 16th, on the morning of the 14th, a banner opposing the strike issued by the Seoul City Bus Transport Business Association was displayed on a Seoul metropolitan bus operating to Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Huh Younghan

The Seoul Institute announced on the 15th that it conducted an online survey of 1,000 adult men and women aged 19 or older residing in Seoul over two days starting September 14. According to the results, 81.3% of respondents said they were against a full-scale city bus strike. Specifically, 43.0% responded that they “strongly oppose” the strike, while 38.3% said they “somewhat oppose” it.

Fewer than 10% of respondents supported the strike. The proportion of those “somewhat in favor” was 8.3%, while 1.6% said they were “strongly in favor,” totaling 9.9% approval.

This opposition was apparent across all age groups. The highest opposition rate was among those aged 70 and over at 85.6%, followed by those in their 40s at 85.2%, those in their 60s at 82.9%, those in their 50s at 81.7%, and those in their 30s at 80.9%. Even in the 19–29 age group, which had the lowest rate of opposition, 71.1% were against the strike.

Among respondents who supported the strike, the main reasons cited were the need to improve working conditions and treatment. Specifically, 53.5% of supporters answered that “it is necessary to improve the working environment, such as long working hours,” while 45.5% believed that “improving treatment can lead to enhanced operational safety.” Additionally, 41.4% stated that “a wage increase is necessary considering the rising cost of goods and living expenses.”

Regarding city bus usage frequency, 77.7% of all respondents said they use city buses at least once a week. 29.7% answered that they use them “almost daily,” 24.7% said “three to four times a week,” and 23.3% reported “once or twice a week.”

Notably, only 33.4% of respondents said they were aware of the scheduled city bus strike on the 16th.

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