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| A train carriage in Yeouido Station, central Seoul, is crowded with passengers in this 2019 photo. Yonhap |
By Ko Dong-hwan
A fare hike for the metro service across Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province appears to be inevitable to keep the debt-ridden operations rolling. But the hike rate could be lower than anticipated due to rising market prices that are putting pressure on the public.
Paik Ho, a candidate for CEO at Seoul Metro, said on Wednesday the hike will likely be 150 won ($0.11) instead of 300 won and will be carried out during the second half of this year. The remark came from a confirmation hearing at the Seoul City Council where he was asked about the company's anticipated fare hike plan.
He said the latest plan replaces the company's previous plan of raising it by 300 won which was to be carried out last April. That plan was postponed due to the rising market prices.
Instead of raising the fare all at once, the hike will be stepped up gradually, first by 150 won this year with the remainder to be discussed later, according to Paik. The measure is to mitigate the pressure on the public already suffering from the increasing market prices, he said.
The remaining hike, according to reports, is likely to happen following the general election in April next year.
Paik said during the hearing there are no ways the company can dissolve the deficit of 1.68 trillion won without raising the fare. The hike would be the only exit from the deficit "even under the most competent CEO out there," he said.
The fare hike, currently 1,350 won and 1,250 won if paid with a credit card, would not have been necessary if the Seoul city government assisted the company with a supplementary fund, according to Paik. Metro operators in other cities like Daegu and Busan are entitled to such funds from the city authorities under the city regulations, he said. He said Seoul Metropolitan Government doesn't have such regulations.
Seoul Metro operates 275 stations on lines one to eight and part of line nine, altogether spanning over 289 kilometers. More than 7 million people use the railway service every day, according to the company.
The city government is expected to propose the hiked fare to be finalized to the city's market price decision committee in June. The 150-won hike later this year is expected to happen in August or September.
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