The Seoul Metropolitan Government's third labor union, also known as the 'MZ union,' the Right Union, has opposed the plan to adjust the first train operation time of the subway. Earlier, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced plans to operate the first trains of subway lines 1 to 8 starting at 5 a.m., 30 minutes earlier than the current schedule, beginning in August.
The Right Union of the Seoul Metropolitan Government noted on the 22nd, 'We strongly oppose the unilateral push by Mayor Oh Se-hoon and the Seoul Metropolitan Government for the subway to start 30 minutes earlier,' and demanded a comprehensive review.
The Right Union stated, 'This matter appears to be part of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's key project, "walking with the weak," and is being pursued together with the expansion of autonomous buses in the early morning,' and pointed out, 'While only emotional reasons for the benefit of early morning workers are mentioned, there has been no proper analysis of specific transport demand to justify moving the operation time 30 minutes earlier.'
They further criticized, 'Moving the time forward without any demand analysis is merely a waste of unnecessary manpower and energy,' adding, 'It exacerbates the already struggling financial situation of the service.'
In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Government immediately refuted the Right Union's claim that 'there was no demand analysis,' stating, 'It is predicted that the number of subway users during the adjusted time will be about three times greater than that during late-night hours.'
According to an analysis conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government from January to December last year, the number of passengers during early morning hours (5:30 a.m. to 6 a.m.) was 73,647, more than 10 times higher than the number of passengers during late-night hours (12:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.), which was 5,986. Given this situation, it is expected that about 71% of bus passengers during that time will use the subway if the first train is advanced by 30 minutes.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated, 'There will be no additional waste of manpower and energy since not only the first train but also the last train time will be moved forward,' adding, 'Since an increase in users is expected, there will be no negative impact on the financial situation of the Seoul Metropolitan Government.'
Earlier, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it would move the first train time 30 minutes earlier for early morning workers, such as environmental workers and security guards, who start work at an early hour, and would also pull forward the last train time by 30 minutes to allow enough time for maintenance and repairs.