"Bus Drivers’ Annual Salary: 85 Million Won?"...Seoul Metropolitan Government Faces 540 Billion Won ‘Labor-Cost Bomb’

[Financial News] The Seoul City Bus Transportation Business Association said on the 10th that accepting the wage increase proposal from the union, which has announced a general strike for the 16th, would result in an additional annual labor cost of 539.4 billion won. Since the Seoul city bus system operates under a quasi-public system, any increase in labor costs would be covered by the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s budget, raising concerns that the burden could ultimately fall on citizens.

The Seoul City Bus Transportation Business Association issued a statement on the 10th criticizing the union, saying, "In addition to a lawsuit over more than 1 trillion won in ordinary wages, the union is demanding a wage increase worth more than 500 billion won this year."
Management and the union are currently locked in a sharp dispute over the standard for calculating ordinary wages. The union is demanding payment of unpaid wages based on the Supreme Court of Korea’s April ruling in the Dong-a Transportation lawsuit, which included regular bonuses in ordinary wages and recognized 176 hours per month as the calculation standard.
Management proposed a 10.32% wage increase through a restructuring of the wage system to use 209 hours, as in other metropolitan cities such as Busan, Daegu and Incheon. After calculating the costs of each item in the union’s demands, management estimated that a 7.85% increase in the hourly wage would cost 117.5 billion won, while applying the 176-hour ordinary-wage calculation standard to bonuses and holiday allowances would cost 277.6 billion won.
Management proposed initially setting the ordinary-wage calculation standard at 209 hours, then paying additional retroactive amounts if the December ruling in the main lawsuit involving 64 companies in the Seoul bus association confirms 176 hours. If the court confirms 230 hours, the union would return the additional payments, management proposed. The union, however, maintains that it cannot back down because the Supreme Court of Korea has already confirmed the standard at 176 hours.

Management estimated that the claims filed in lawsuits from 2020 to 2025 totaled 1.0214 trillion won. It also said that raising hourly wages by 7.85% as demanded by the union and applying the 176-hour ordinary-wage standard would create an additional annual cost burden of 539.4 billion won. As a result, the annual salary of a ninth-step driving employee would rise by approximately 23.9%, or 16.39 million won, from 68.70 million won last year to 85.09 million won.
Management said, "We will work closely with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to arrange alternative transportation," adding, "We will do our utmost to ensure that city buses operate normally, even if only on some routes or sections." It also warned that if the union obstructs employees who do not participate in the strike from operating normally, it would take swift action with the police and the Seoul Metropolitan Government to ensure that those responsible are punished.
The union will hold a vote among its members on the 11th and conduct a second mediation meeting with management on the 15th. If mediation fails, it will begin a strike with the first bus of the day on the 16th.
[email protected] Ahn Ga-eul Reporter