Subway riders to face penalties for failing to tap out

Passengers tap their transit cards at a subway station in Seoul, Jan. 22, 2025. Newsis

Starting Saturday, passengers who fail to tap their transportation card when exiting the Seoul Metropolitan Subway will be charged an additional base fare on their next trip, closing a loophole that has allowed some riders to avoid full distance-based fares.

Seoul Metro said Sunday the new penalty system, aimed at deterring riders from deliberately skipping the exit tag, will apply across the entire Seoul metropolitan rail network, including lines operated by other agencies such as Korail.

In Korea, subway fares are based on entry and exit card taps, with the base fare covering up to 10 kilometers and an additional 100 won charged for every 5 kilometers thereafter. If a passenger fails to tap out, the system cannot verify the distance and no extra fare is added.

Under the new system, passengers who fail to tap out will be charged a surcharge equal to the base fare on their next trip — 1,550 won ($1.07) for adults 19 and older, 900 won for adolescents aged 13 to 18, and 550 won for children aged 6 to 12.

Since 2004, under the integrated transfer fare system in the Seoul metropolitan area, passengers who fail to tap out have been denied bus-subway transfer discounts, but those using only urban rail have not faced a separate penalty.

That gap has allowed thousands of riders to skip the exit tag, with such cases on Seoul Metro lines averaging more than 8,000 per day from January to November last year. The new measure applies to prepaid and postpaid transportation cards, but not to season passes, single-journey tickets or discounted passes.

Seoul Metro will run a promotional campaign through the end of this month at major transfer stations, including Seoul and Hongdae, and will also inform passengers of the changes through station notices and onboard train videos.

“Tagging out is a basic procedure to verify the distance traveled and settle fares,” said Ma Hae-geun, head of operations at Seoul Metro. “We will establish a fair fare system so that passengers who pay properly are not disadvantaged.”