A rolling strike by school support staff demanding higher base pay disrupted meal services at one-thousand-89 schools across five regions on Thursday.

The education ministry said that as of 11 a.m., about six-thousand-900 workers—roughly 12-point-nine percent of the 53-thousand non-regular staff responsible for school meals and after-school care in Seoul, Incheon, Gangwon Province, Sejong City and North Chungcheong Province—had joined the walkout.

Of the three-thousand-298 schools offering meals in those areas, one-third suspended lunch service, while after-school care was halted at 25 elementary schools and 20 kindergartens.

The national coalition of school non-regular worker unions held a rally outside the National Assembly, demanding legal recognition for educational support workers and revisions to the School Meal Act.

Union leaders called for base pay above the minimum wage, holiday bonuses aligned with central and local government standards, income protection during unpaid school breaks and stronger safety measures for high-risk kitchen work.

They warned that without progress in ongoing wage talks, the strike would continue next month and lead to further disruption.