Members of the Korean Railway Workers’ Union hold a rally outside Seoul Station on Sept. 14 as they launch their first strike in four years. (Shin So-young/The Hankyoreh)
The Korean Railway Workers’ Union has gone on strike for the first time in four years. The union announced that it would carry out the first leg of its walkout between 9 am on Thursday and 9 am on Monday. Announcements related to the stoppage of certain train routes and the worker walkout could be seen around Seoul Station on Thursday morning. No major turmoil could be sensed on the part of those traveling by train.
A notice about the industrial action stands near the ticket booths at Seoul Station on Sept. 14, the first day of a strike by Korail workers. (Shin So-young/The Hankyoreh)
The union held rallies to kick off its strike at five stations across the country: Seoul Station, Busan Station, Daejeon Station, Yeongju Station and Gwangju Songjeong Station. Among other demands, the KRWU is calling on the government to change the terminus of KTX trains on the Gyeongbu Line to Suseo Station. The number of KTX trains running on the line was increased starting Sept. 1.Moreover, the union called for KTX trains to be allowed to run on the SRT route between Suseo and Gyeongbu (Gyeongsang and Busan), which had seen fewer passengers since the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recently bumped up the number of SRT routes from two (Gyeongbu and Honam) to five (new Donghae, Gyeongjeon, Jeolla lines). The ministry announced that a total of 1,170 trains will cease operation during the strike, including high-speed and conventional trains and metro railways. Travelers who booked tickets on any of the struck trains have had their tickets canceled and refunded without fee and have been notified by text message.
