Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon held an emergency countermeasure meeting at 9:10 p.m. on the 13th in his City Hall office to minimize inconvenience and damage to residents caused by the Seoul city bus strike.
Attending the meeting were the city's Transportation Bureau, Administration Bureau, Economic Bureau, and Public Relations Planning Office, as well as Seoul Metro and the 120DasanCall Foundation and other related city-affiliated organizations.
Oh said, "As the mayor of Seoul responsible for residents' daily lives, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility for the inconvenience and confusion caused by the city bus strike," adding, "Both labor and management must return to the bargaining table even now." He also emphasized, "Buses, the feet of residents, must not continue to grind to a halt, and no interest can come before residents' daily lives."
In response to the Seoul city bus strike, the city discussed additional measures including maintaining an average 2 minutes 30 seconds headway centered on Line No. 2, the most congested line; easing crowding by inserting empty trains in the middle of rush-hour service; deploying additional safety personnel (277 more, 522 in total); and mobilizing all city government buses. It also decided to strengthen public guidance by deploying additional counselors to the 120DasanCall Center.
Oh said, "We must pool responsible decisions and wisdom from both labor and management so residents can go to work tomorrow morning without worry," adding, "Seoul City will also do its utmost to persuade both sides to the end so the talks can be concluded."
Oh also emphasized, "Seoul City public servants must thoroughly check and respond to ensure safety everywhere so there is no inconvenience to residents until the talks are concluded, and to prevent any safety accidents in areas expected to be crowded, such as subway transfer stations."
The city formed an emergency response headquarters that day and is operating 172 additional subway runs per day, extending the last trains until 2 a.m., and running shuttle buses at subway stations.