On the 27th, citizens use the bus at the Seoul Station transfer center in Jung-gu, Seoul /Courtesy of News1

The Seoul city bus union decided on the 28th to suspend the strike that was planned to start with the first bus in the morning. Accordingly, all city buses operated normally, avoiding chaos on the commute.

The Seoul city government stated in a disaster text message sent at 6 a.m. that, "Due to the decision to suspend the city bus strike, all city buses will operate normally, so please keep that in mind while using them."

According to the Seoul city government and others, the Seoul city bus labor and management held wage negotiations at the Seoul Regional Labor Commission in Yeongdeungpo District from 3 p.m. the previous day, but they could not narrow their differences and ultimately broke down at midnight on that day. As a result, the union was scheduled to begin the strike with the first bus at 4 a.m. that morning. However, around 2:30 a.m., the union decided to suspend the strike.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' Seoul City Bus Labor Union held a general meeting of branch leaders around 2 a.m. at the union office in Yongsan District to discuss the possibility of a general strike and made this decision thereafter. It is reported that, out of 63 members present, 49 voted for the 'suspension of the strike.' There were 11 votes for the strike and 3 abstentions.

In preparation for the city bus strike, the Seoul city government planned to implement measures starting that day, including ▲ extending subway operation by one hour ▲ deploying free shuttle buses in 25 autonomous districts ▲ temporarily relaxing taxi sharing inspections. However, the union's cancellation of the strike led to the cancellation of these emergency transport measures.

Yu Jang-gwon, the head of the Seoul city transport office, noted, "I am glad that the decision to suspend the strike helped minimize confusion among citizens during the commute," and said, "I will do my best to ensure that any unexpected actions by the union do not cause inconvenience to citizens."

The Seoul City Bus Transportation Business Association, representing management, welcomed the labor union's decision to suspend the strike and expressed gratitude, saying, "The bus association will make every effort to ensure that citizens can safely use the bus starting with the first bus this morning."