With unionized railway workers in South Korea launching a strike to demand better working conditions, including the employment of thousands of more workers, the government is adamant that it will not approve any extra hires unless reasonable grounds are offered. 

Second Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Kyung-wook relayed the government’s stance on Wednesday during a meeting with executives of the Korea Railroad Corporation(KORAIL) at the government complex in Sejong City on Wednesday. 

Management and labor at the state-run railroad operator have already agreed on the additional recruitment of employees in principle but are refusing to see eye to eye on the level of extra hires. The labor union is demanding around four-thousand-600 more workers, or more than two times the amount management says it is willing to accept. 

Vice Minister Kim said that even the management’s recruitment plan is excessive, adding it will increase KORAIL's annual deficit from 90 billion won last year to 300 billion won every year. 

Arguing that a sizable addition of employees will increase the burden on the public, Kim urged the two sides to come up with measures to raise labor productivity and efficiency before demanding extra hires.