Subway screen doors to be mandatory

Platform screen doors are to prevent falls and suicide attempts and to improve air quality. A new bill is expected to add pressure on the central government to spend more for the expansion of screen doors in provincial stations. / Korea Times file

Central gov't under pressure to expand budget

By Bahk Eun-ji

A lawmaker of the ruling Saenuri Party has proposed a bill requiring the establishment of platform screens at subway stations across the country.

Platform screens are to prevent falls and suicide attempts and to improve air quality.

According to the Ministry of Land, Transport Maritime Affairs, out of the 293 stations on subway lines 1 through 8 in Seoul, 292 have screens; in Busan, 37 out of 108 stations do; in Incheon 12 out of 29 stations; and only half of 20 stations in Gwangju.

"The suicide rate has dropped rapidly since subway stations built platform screens in Seoul, so stations in provinces also need to have them to prevent falls and suicides," said Rep. Lee Hun-seung, a member of the Saenuri Party, who proposed the bill.

A recent report released by National Assembly Research Service, the number of people committed suicides in subways increased from 43 in 2011 to 56 in 2012 across the nation, while there have no incidents in Seoul thanks to the screens and safety doors.

However, how to raise funds to cover the cost remains an obstacle to the plan.

With the growing concern, Busan, Daegu, Incheon and Gwangju municipal governments requested the central government to provide them with 49.5 billion won last year to install screens.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance rejected the request for additional budget, claiming Seoul City raised own budget for the system.

Saenuri's Lee said the bill, if passed at the Assembly, will lay the legal groundwork for the central government to extend financial support for the installation of screens at provincial subways.

"In the case of Seoul, there have been hardly any suicide attempts by passengers in subways thanks to the screens. The bill will make it harder for the central government to reject requests for financial support for installations in provincial subway stations," Lee said.

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