▲ A signboard at a bus stop in Seoul on Jan. 13, 2026, shows all buses are parked at a depot. (Yonhap)

Seoul bus-strike

Seoul bus union launches strike over wage dispute, suspending all services

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- Unionized intracity bus drivers in Seoul launched an indefinite strike Tuesday after wage talks with the management broke down, suspending all services and prompting concerns of major traffic disruptions.

Union officials and the management sat down for another round of wage negotiations Monday, a day before the strike was set to begin, but after more than 10 hours of talks, a breakdown was announced at 1:30 a.m.

All intracity bus services were suspended starting from the first service at 4 a.m.

The management had offered a wage increase of 10.3 percent in line with a Supreme Court ruling that regular bonuses should become part of an employee's regular wage. To reduce the burden of the added cost, however, it proposed establishing a new wage system that includes bonuses in the base pay.

The union rejected the proposal, however, demanding that the additional payments resulting from the ruling be excluded from current negotiations, and that the management raise wages by 3 percent without revising the wage system, extend the retirement age to 65 and abolish pay discrimination.

The two sides have not scheduled further negotiations, though they are expected to continue discussions through back channels.

More than 7,300 buses run on 394 routes operated by 64 bus companies, all of which are members of the union.

The Seoul metropolitan government has provided alternative transport means for citizens, including by adding trains to subway services during the morning rush hour and extending late-night subway operations to 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Local ward offices will also run free shuttle buses to and from subway stations.

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