Despite public support, Korea struggles to raise age threshold for seniors’ free subway rides
An elderly passenger goes through the fare gates at Jonggak Station on Seoul Subway Line 1, June 22. Yonhap
As Seoul pushes to raise the eligibility age for free subway rides from 65 to 70, calls are growing to extend the change across the broader range of social benefits provided to older citizens to reflect the demographic reality of a “superaged society,” in which more than 20 percent of the population is 65 or older.
But the threshold is tightly bound up with a host of other policies, including the statutory retirement age, making it increasingly difficult for the Korean government to revise a definition of old age written into law decades ago.
Under the Welfare of Senior Citizens Act, people aged 65 and older receive a range of benefits, including free rides on subways nationwide and free admission to national parks, museums, galleries and historic palaces. They are also entitled to a 30 percent discount on rail services such as the KTX. Various welfare programs introduced later, including the basic pension and long-term care insurance, followed suit by setting their eligibility threshold at 65.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Sunday, that age standard has remained unchanged for 45 years since the act was enacted in 1981. To many, however, the demographic reality underpinning the law has changed beyond recognition.
Life expectancy in Korea stood at 67.9 years in 1981 but had risen to 83.7 years by 2024, while the share of older people in the population also increased sharply.
The arrival of the baby boomer generation in its 60s has added momentum to calls for a higher threshold. Many members of the generation are seen as relatively young, financially secure and physically fit, fueling arguments that people in their 60s should no longer automatically qualify for benefits reserved for seniors.
Seoul and Daegu have already begun testing that shift at the local level. The Seoul Metropolitan Government recently announced plans to raise the eligibility age for free subway rides to 70 by revising a municipal ordinance. The ministry said local governments have the authority to set their own age thresholds for the benefit without amending the Welfare of Senior Citizens Act. Daegu has likewise been raising its threshold by one year annually since 2024.
A graph generated using AI
Raising threshold to 70 risks backlash from those aged 65 to 69
Public attitudes toward the age threshold for senior status have also shifted on polling results. According to a Gallup Korea poll released May 1, 59 percent of respondents supported raising the threshold to 70, while just 30 percent opposed the change. That marks a clear shift from a 2015 survey, when support and opposition were nearly evenly divided at 46 percent and 47 percent, respectively.
Senior citizens’ group also backed raising threshold for senior benefits. Lee Jung-guen, president of the Korean Senior Citizens Association, proposed that the government gradually raise the age defining senior status from 65 to 75 over a 10-year period in 2024.
But for the government, far more is at stake than the eligibility age for free subway rides. The greatest concern is that raising the threshold from 65 to 70 could extend the gap between retirement and access to senior benefits by another five years, leaving some people who retire at 60 waiting long as a decade before qualifying for free subway rides and discounted rail travel.
Discontent among people aged 65 to 69, whose transportation costs would suddenly rise, presents another obstacle. It is a challenge the Seoul Metropolitan Government will have to confront, and critics argue that it can be resolved only if the statutory retirement age is raised first. Lee, president of the Korean Senior Citizens Association, has taken a similar position, saying that any move to redefine senior status at 75 must be preceded by an extension of the retirement age.
That same question would have to be considered across the broader welfare system, including whether the eligibility age for the basic pension, paid to the bottom 70 percent of income earners, and long-term care insurance, which supports older people unable to manage daily life on their own, should also be raised to 70. Such a change could hit low-income people and those with age-related illnesses in the 65-to-69 age group particularly hard.
Lee Sam-sik, head of Hanyang University’s Institute for an Aging Society, said the threshold should be raised to 70 for people aged 65 and older who remain healthy and economically and socially active. “For people in their 60s, the government should prevent gaps in income by extending working lives and expanding labor market participation, while health care and long-term care services should be guaranteed according to their health and care needs,” he said.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.