Unionized railway workers will launch a general strike for four days starting from Thursday to demand the expansion of public railroads and the implementation of a four-group, two-shift schedule.

The Korean Railway Workers' Union announced on Wednesday that it will stage the strike from 9 a.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. next Monday.

The Korea Railroad Corporation(KORAIL) said it began operating an around-the-clock emergency countermeasures system to safely operate trains and minimize public inconvenience. 

The corporation plans to bring in employees and military personnel with train driving experience for metropolitan subway lines and KTX high-speed train routes during commuting hours. 

KORAIL said metropolitan subway lines will run at 75 percent of normal levels while maintaining operations at 68 percent of normal levels for KTX trains. 

The transport ministry also began operating an emergency countermeasures system from Wednesday to prevent any public inconvenience that might result from the general strike. 

The last time unionized railway workers went on strike was four years ago in November 2019.