The South Korean railroad strike of 2006 was a four-day walkout by members of the Korea Railway Workers' Union employed by the Korean National Railroad. It lasted from March 1 to March 4, when most of the workers voluntarily returned to work. During the strike, Korail's passenger service was decreased by 60%, on both national and Seoul Subway lines. Freight service was also greatly reduced.
The principal issue, which was not resolved during the strike, was Korail's replacement of regular long-term positions with short-term contract positions. The strike was declared illegal by the government after emergency arbitration was imposed, and at least 411 strikers were imprisoned.
The female KTX attendants' union, whose members are not employed by Korail but by a subcontractor, continued their walkout.
Famous quotes containing the words south, railroad and/or strike:
“Whenever I’m asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one. To be able to recognize a freak, you have to have some conception of the whole man, and in the South the general conception of man is still, in the main, theological.”
—Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964)
“This I saw when waking late,
Going by at a railroad rate,
Looking through wreaths of engine smoke
Far into the lives of other folk.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Whosoever, in writing a modern history, shall follow truth too near the heels, it may haply strike out his teeth.”
—Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618)