Rail union suspends strike; trains run normally

Dec 11, 2025, 09:40 am

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A banner reading “Honor the Korail agreement” hangs at Seoul Station on December 10 as the Korean Railway Workers’ Union prepares for negotiations. / Source: Yonhap News

The Korean Railway Workers’ Union has suspended its indefinite strike scheduled to begin on December 11, ensuring that all trains nationwide will operate as normal.

The union said it reached a tentative agreement with Korail at 11:55 p.m. on December 10, narrowly avoiding a shutdown of the country’s rail services. The deal includes progress toward restoring performance-based bonuses, a core union demand, with additional talks planned to settle remaining issues in the wage negotiations.

With the agreement in place, full rail operations will continue without disruption.

Earlier that afternoon, main negotiations collapsed just 30 minutes after they began at 3 p.m., prompting both sides to reconvene at 10 p.m. for renewed talks. The union warned, however, that it will resume strike action if the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s Public Institution Management Committee does not place the issue of performance-pay normalization on the agenda at its meeting scheduled for December 24.

During this year’s wage talks, the union has pushed for three key demands: normalization of performance bonuses, integration of high-speed rail services, and strengthened safety measures. Among these, restoring the performance-pay standard—raising it from the current 80% of base salary to 100%—has emerged as the central point of contention.

#Korail #rail strike