Debate erupts again over free subway rides for elderly as elections near

Senior citizens pass through turnstiles at Jongno 3-ga Station in Seoul, Feb. 6, 2023. Yonhap

A debate has resurfaced on whether to continue offering free subway rides for senior citizens in the lead-up to the April 10 general elections. A new conservative party is considering replacing the free rides with vouchers due to widening deficits caused by a rapidly aging society.

The Reformist Party, headed by former ruling People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok, recently rolled out a pledge to abolish free subway rides for 9.5 million citizens aged 65 or older and provide pre-paid transportation cards worth 120,000 won ($90) instead.

“Despite the subway operators' revenues remaining constant, the growing number of elderly individuals taking advantage of the free ride benefit is leading to accumulating losses,” Lee said during a radio interview with broadcaster CBS, Friday.

“Should subway operators experience capital impairment, they would require subsidies funded by taxes. Unfortunately, politicians are irresponsibly choosing to overlook this issue.”

Since 1984, Korea has been providing free subway rides for those aged 65 or older. Back then, only 4 percent of the country’s population was in that age bracket. But in 2023, 18.4 percent of the total population was in that age bracket, pushing up the costs for subway operators. Because of this, the welfare policy for senior citizens has been one of the hotly debated issues, especially at election time.

According to Seoul Metro, 196.64 million free subway rides were recorded in 2022, and losses incurred by the free rides assumed to have reached 315.2 billion won.

Reformist Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok, right, speaks to Korea Senior Citizens Association Chairman Kim Ho-il during their debate streamed by broadcaster CBS, Friday. Captured from CBS YouTube channel

The Reformist Party claimed that the current free subway ride program only benefits senior citizens in large cities with such transport systems or other urban rail networks, and the pre-paid transportation cards can be used not only for the subway, but also buses and other means of public transportation. After using up the pre-paid amount, the party said it seeks to provide a 40 percent discount for seniors.

However, senior citizens are unhappy about the Reformist Party’s pledge.

“The free rides are not connected to the losses of subway operators” because “the electricity costs for subway operators are the same with or without passengers,” said Korea Senior Citizens Association Chairman Kim Ho-il, who also participated in the CBS interview.

“The 120,000-won amount means that seniors can go out only three times a week,” Kim said, citing the average one-way fee of Seoul’s subway is 1,500 won. “There are reports that providing free subway rides for senior citizens can save approximately 400 billion won in medical costs every year” by keeping them active.

While the Reformist Party was butting heads with senior citizens, the New Choice, a liberal new party headed by former lawmaker Keum Tae-seop, announced on Jan. 23 that it believes “the free subway ride program for senior citizens should be maintained until Korea’s old-age poverty rate drops to the average of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).”

Korea has the highest poverty rate among senior citizens in the OECD, with 40.4 percent of those aged 65 or older having an income lower than half the median wage of the total population.

On the other hand, the country’s ruling PPP and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea have yet to roll out their policy promises related to transportation for senior citizens.