Seoul subway fares to rise by 150 won after presidential election in June

Commuters pass through turnstiles at a subway station in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap

A round-trip subway fare across Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province will exceed 3,000 won ($2.12) as the price is set to increase by 150 won around the end of June, after the presidential election, industry officials said Sunday.

The change was approved by the Gyeonggi Provincial Council during a meeting Tuesday, when it decided to increase the current basic subway fare of 1,400 won to 1,550 won in the metropolitan area.

Subway fares increased from 1,250 won to 1,400 won in October 2023, and the Seoul government said a further 150 won increase would come in 2024.

The administrative process for raising rates is expected to be completed after policy consultations between the local governments of Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, as well as the state-run railway operator Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL).

The price hike aims to tackle years-long financial difficulties for Seoul Metro, the operator of subway lines 1 to 8 and part of Line 9, which had a net loss of 724 billion won last year and saw a cumulative deficit standing at 18.9 trillion won as of this year.

The company's debt stands at 7.34 trillion won, with daily interest reaching nearly 300 million won.

Notably, the number of free rides in the region has reached 7.51 million per day, resulting in about 400 billion won in losses per year. The subway operator said fare hikes and government support for losses from free rides are necessary to address the problem.

An official from the transportation industry said the fare increase must proceed as planned and cannot be delayed any longer due to the deficits of the municipal governments’ transportation operators.