72-HOUR RAILWAY STRIKE

[Anchor Lead]

Unionized railway workers launched a 72-hour strike on Friday to demand wage normalization and shorter working hours to improve safety. The operation of trains including KTX will likely be disrupted because of the strike.

[Pkg]

The Korean Railway Workers' Union launched a strike at 9 a.m. Friday. It will continue until 9 a.m. October 14. The union blasted the Korea Railroad Corporation for failing to deliver on its promise of normalizing wages and solving labor shortage. It also demanded the corporation immediately deliver on the promise of granting railway workers a permanent employment status, as their job involves public safety.

[Soundbite] CHO SANG-SOO(HEAD OF RAILWAY WORKERS' UNION(OCT. 8)) : "We need more workers to overhaul our wage system, minimize after-hours, and allow workers to take annual leaves."

The strike will inevitably cause disruptions in train operation. Subway trains in the metropolitan area will likely operate normally on Friday and the last day of the strike, October 14. However, operations are expected to be cut to 88 percent of the usual level this coming weekend. The operation of regular trains will be even more adversely affected. KTX operation is to be cut to 72 percent of the normal level, while the operation of Saemaeul and Mugunghwa trains will be reduced to 60 percent. The operation of freight trains will be slashed to 36.8 percent. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to deploy KORAIL workers and military personnel during the strike to try and maintain the operation of metropolitan trains and KTX during rush hour at the usual levels.

[Soundbite] HONG SEUNG-PYO(KOREA RAILROAD CORPORATION) : "We are preparing to keep the operation rate as high as possible by deploying workers and Defense Ministry officials with train driving license."

The ministry also urged passengers to either cancel or change their tickets for trains with operations set to be suspended during the strike.