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Busan City Bus Labor and Management Reach Last-Minute Wage Agreement for 2026

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that labor and management in the Busan city bus sector reached a final wage agreement at 4:45 a.m. today, August 25.

The two sides ultimately agreed to raise the hourly wage, which had been the key issue in the negotiations, to KRW 19,177, an increase of 5.0% from the previous year. Last year, no separate wage increase was implemented because the parties agreed to reform the wage structure following the Supreme Court ruling on ordinary wages. This year’s increase was therefore determined in consideration of both the wage increase rate and inflation.

As a result, Busan city bus services will avoid disruptions from the general strike scheduled for August 28 by the Korean Automobile Workers’ Federation.

Labor and management had continued negotiations through a total of nine joint labor-management bargaining committee meetings held between December 1 of last year and August 12 of this year. However, after failing to reach an agreement, they applied for formal mediation by the Regional Labor Relations Commission.

Although the original deadline for final negotiations was August 27, labor and management continued talks until the last moment through three special mediation meetings. The Regional Labor Relations Commission subsequently proposed a 5.0% wage adjustment, which both sides accepted, leading to a final agreement at 4:45 a.m. today.

In these negotiations, labor and management shared the view that disruptions to city bus services, which are directly connected to residents’ daily lives, must be avoided, and they continued negotiations until the last moment to reach common ground.

In particular, following the city bus strike on May 28, 2025, both sides agreed that a strike causing inconvenience to residents should not be repeated this year and continued negotiations until the last moment.

Mayor Chun Jae-soo visited the labor-management negotiation site and said, “I would like to thank both labor and management for continuing their dialogue to the end and reaching an agreement to ensure the stable operation of city buses, which are directly connected to residents’ daily lives.”

He added, “Busan Metropolitan City will continue to listen closely to the voices of both labor and management and work together with them to ensure the stable operation of city bus services.”