Seoul bus strike called off after union, management land on dramatic deal

Seoul buses began operating normally on Wednesday morning after the union and management struck a dramatic agreement earlier in the morning.

Representatives of Seoul's city bus companies and unionized bus workers struck a deal at around 1:50 a.m. on Wednesday morning, after 12 hours of negotiating. 

The two sides agreed on a 3.2 percent raise in salaries, up 0.3 percentage points from last year.

The deal effectively called off a general strike that was set to begin at 4 a.m. starting with the first Seoul buses on Wednesday. 

The Seoul Metropolitan Government had promised to activate emergency transportation measures as soon as the strike began, namely with 1,500 free shuttle buses and increased subway services during rush hours.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]