The Korea Railway Workers Union (KRWU) officially ended its 73-day strike (from 25 September to 9 December) opposing performance-based wage systems. Train operations began normalizing in stages from 12 December.
A spokesperson for the Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail) stated, “Under the agreement to normalize railway operations between labor and management, union members who participated in strikes returned to work at 2 pm on 9 December”. On 7 December, labor and management at Korail agreed to △ focus on securing railroad safety and stabilizing labor-management relations, △ normalize train operations immediately, and △ adjust wages within the boundaries of the guidelines provided by the government.
Korail provided a three-day “come-back” program for workers who had been on strike to provide safety training and offer some mental and physical relief. Metropolitan subways and freight trains began running as usual on 12 December. Other passenger trains also began gradually returning to their operating schedules on 12 December.
To ensure safe operations, Korea Train Express (KTX) reduced operations to 83% of normal, returning back to work on 19 December after thorough inspections. Once KTX operations normalized, high-speed rail operations increased by 43% compared to the period before the strike, with the Suseo High Speed Railway (SRT) in operation from 9 December.