Seoul: Unionized workers of Korea Railroad Corp. announced on Wednesday their decision to commence an indefinite strike starting Thursday after negotiations regarding bonus pay and safety measures reached an impasse.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the strike, initiated by the Korean Railway Workers' Union, is slated to begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday. Approximately 10,000 of the 22,000 union members are expected to participate in the walkout. The union has been advocating for increased performance-based bonuses and enhanced safety protocols, criticizing the current compensation framework, which limits such bonuses to 80 percent of the base pay.

The breakdown in negotiations occurred when the union's demands concerning bonuses were not included in the agenda for a meeting of the finance ministry's steering committee of public institutions. The union has stated that without a responsible commitment from the government to address the normalization of performance bonuses by the end of the year, they will proceed with an indefinite general strike starting Thursday morning.

In addition to bonus-related grievances, the union had also requested the integration of high-speed rail services. The government recently responded to this demand by announcing the integration of high-speed KTX and SRT services.