The labor union and the management of the state-run Korea Railroad Corporation(KORAIL) reached a tentative agreement in their last-minute talks, just hours before a planned general strike.

The union and management held negotiations at 4:20 p.m. Thursday, but the talks collapsed in just 20 minutes.

The two sides resumed talks around midnight and reached a tentative agreement at around 4:30 a.m. Friday that includes the establishment of phased measures regarding pay raises over the next three years in accordance with a court ruling on ordinary wages.

They also agreed to increase the number of employees and improve working conditions at Obong Station, where one railway worker was killed early last month after being struck by a train while connecting and separating cargo trains.

A union official told reporters that the tentative agreement will be put to a vote in a general meeting of union members within a week.

With the last-minute agreement, the union canceled the general strike set for 9 a.m. Friday.