Seoul subway won’t go on strike on Wednesday after reaching agreement

Seoul Metro's labor union has reached an agreement with the subway operator, canceling their plan to go on strike. The union demanded the hiring of 868 employees, but settled for 660 new hires this year.

Commuters walk on the platform at Gwanghwamun Station in central Seoul on Tuesday. The labor union of Seoul Metro reached an agreement with the subway operator on Tuesday, withdrawing its plans to go on strike on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Seoul Metro's labor union reached an agreement with the subway operator on Tuesday, withdrawing its plan to go on strike Wednesday.

The agreement was reached around 9:25 p.m. Tuesday at the company headquarters in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, after hours of negotiations, according to union and company officials.

The union, the largest union at the subway operator affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, had announced earlier its plan to stage a walkout on Wednesday to protest the company's planned layoffs.

The union, in a statement following the agreement, said that it will "continue its discussion with Seoul Metro after hiring 660 new employees this year," an increase from the company's original plan of hiring 388 workers.

The labor union had initially demanded the hiring of a total of 868 employees.

Earlier this month, unionized workers went on a two-day "warning strike" to protest Seoul Metro's restructuring plan, which called for laying off 13.5 percent of its workforce, or over 2,200 employees, by 2026.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]