As city bus strikes lead to near-total service shutdowns, there is increasing support for designating city buses as 'essential public services' to protect citizens' mobility rights.
Labor groups have pushed back against such measures, arguing they would restrict workers' rights to collective action. However, experts emphasize the need for a system that balances the right to strike with citizens' mobility rights.
According to the Seoul city government, during a bus strike in March of last year, the operation rate was only 4.4%, and during a two-day strike in January this year, it was just 6.8%. In 2025, bus operation rates in Busan, Ulsan, and Changwon dropped to 0% on strike days.
When bus services halt, citizens face significant disruptions in their daily lives, including commuting to work, attending school, and visiting hospitals. This is especially problematic in areas lacking alternative transportation options like subways.
What Are Essential Public Services?
Essential public services are defined as public services that significantly impact citizens' lives, safety, and daily activities. Currently, sectors such as railways, urban subways, air traffic control, hospitals, and utilities like electricity and water are designated as essential public services under labor laws.
Being designated as an essential public service does not prohibit strikes. Instead, labor and management agree on essential maintenance work agreements that outline minimum operations and necessary personnel during strikes, ensuring that vital services continue.
In contrast, Seoul's city buses are not yet classified as essential public services, leading to repeated instances of complete service stoppage during strikes.
“Protecting Citizens' Mobility Rights Is Important”
Labor groups oppose the designation of essential public services. The Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union recently held a press conference, stating, “If designated as essential public services, workers' rights to collective action could be severely limited,” and called on the government to halt its push for such designations. The union argues that improving safety staffing, working conditions, and addressing structural issues in the semi-public system should take precedence.
Conversely, citizens argue that buses are as essential to daily life as subways, and therefore, a minimum level of service should be guaranteed. A worker residing in northern Seoul remarked, “While subways maintain some level of service during strikes, it’s hard to understand why buses come to a near-complete halt. We should respect the right to strike, but not at the expense of citizens' commutes.”
Need for Minimum Service Guarantees in Semi-Public Systems
Experts explain that the shift of city buses from a primarily private system to a semi-public system supported by local governments is a key factor in the discussion about designating them as essential public services.
The semi-public system allows private bus companies to operate vehicles while local governments manage routes and fares, covering deficits with public funds. This system is implemented in 11 local governments across the country, with support for special and metropolitan cities reaching approximately 2.4 trillion won last year.
According to the Seoul Bus Transportation Association, the standard daily operating cost for Seoul city buses has nearly doubled from about 440,000 won in 2004 to 860,000 won in 2023, with labor costs now accounting for 75% of total expenses. As a result, there is growing support for maintaining at least minimal public services during strikes, given that the semi-public system is funded by taxpayer money.
Currently, a bill to include semi-public city buses as essential public services has been introduced in the National Assembly.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has stated, “Designating essential public services is not about eliminating the right to strike, but rather a minimal measure to protect citizens' fundamental mobility rights.”
Experts suggest that maintaining 20-30% of normal service levels during peak commuting hours and in areas with limited alternative transportation options should be considered. However, they also caution that the scope of essential maintenance work and minimum service levels should be defined reasonably to avoid excessively restricting workers' rights. Additionally, enhancing financial transparency in the semi-public system and improving oversight of bus companies are necessary steps.
Transportation experts agree that reforming the semi-public system and protecting citizens' mobility rights are not mutually exclusive issues but rather challenges that must be addressed together.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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