The Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) labor union reached a tentative agreement with the management on a 3 percent wage increase three days after launching a full-scale strike. Union members have decided to suspend the strike and return to work, effective Sunday.
The SNUH Branch of the Medical Solidarity Headquarters of the Korea Public Service and Transport Workers' Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) announced last Friday that it had resumed negotiations with management, including SNUH President Kim Young-tae, resulting in a tentative agreement to end the strike. A provisional signing ceremony was also held that day.
The SNUH labor and management agreed to a 3 percent increase in total wages in line with the government's public institution wage increase guidelines and to reduce the wage system by one step from the current “Grade 9, Step 72” structure. They also agreed to increase the number of reserve nursing staff, protect the working conditions of physician assistant (PA) nurses, secure recovery leave for night shift workers, and improve the treatment of positions converted to regular employment.
They also agreed to “continuously research and review systems and policies to alleviate the burden of hospital expenses for pediatric and adolescent patients and propose these to the government through the National University Hospital Association by the first half of 2026.”
Additionally, the two sides agreed to terminate the operation of the promotional window for indemnity insurance and remove it, establish guidelines for protecting patients in hospitals, as well as prevent sexual violence, and propose to the government the strengthening of public service indicators in hospital management evaluations.
The SNUH union noted that although the management agreed to cooperate with the government on policy and institutional improvements to establish a comprehensive public healthcare system and overcome the public healthcare crisis, the agreement failed to include the transfer of national university hospitals to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health and Welfare instead of the Ministry of Education.
The union vowed to continue to fight for the transfer of national university hospitals to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
It will hold a vote among its members on this tentative agreement before signing the wage and collective bargaining agreement.