2nd Place Euljiro 3-ga Station on Lines 2 and 3 (291.5 million KRW), 3rd Place Euljiro 1(il)-gu Station on Line 2 (266.67 million KRW)... Assemblyman Kim Seon-gyo, "Subway Station Dual Naming Selection Criteria Should Be Improved to Promote Public Interest and Citizen Convenience"
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] According to the ‘Status of Seoul Subway Station Name Co-Signage’ submitted by Seoul Metro to Kim Sun-kyo, a member of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee (People Power Party, Yeoju-si Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province), as of September this year, 39 organizations at 43 stations on lines 1 to 8 have paid for co-signage of station names, while 65 stations have free co-signage.
Paid co-signage involves keeping the existing station name intact while adding the names of surrounding organizations. This system has been implemented since 2015 according to Seoul city guidelines to resolve complaints regarding station name changes from organizations and groups, promote them, and generate revenue for the corporation.
On the other hand, free co-signage is only allowed in a limited manner when necessary for national or local government policy promotion. The city or district collects opinions from local residents and finalizes the decision through the Seoul City Place Name Committee, which is then confirmed by a city announcement.
The most expensive station name in the Seoul subway is Nonhyeon Station on Line 7, with an annual usage fee of 300 million KRW, the highest amount contracted. Following that are Euljiro 3-ga Station on Lines 2 and 3 (291.5 million KRW), Euljiro 1-ga Station on Line 2 (266.67 million KRW), Seolleung Station on Line 2 (250.33 million KRW), and Yeoksam Station on Line 2 (235 million KRW).
Co-signage contracts are operated on a basic three-year term, and when an organization meets the selection criteria for station name co-signage, the highest bidder is finally decided through the review of the Metro Station Name Co-Signage Deliberation Committee.
Paid sales of station name co-signage is a business that generates annual revenue of 4.7419 billion KRW for Seoul Metro, which had a debt of 6.6072 trillion KRW (debt ratio 77.9%) as of 2021. Introduced in 2016, it has undergone five bidding announcements, and in 2023, it is known that new bids are planned, including 18 stations with contracts due to expire.
Assemblyman Kim Sun-kyo pointed out, “Among the 39 organizations currently contracted for paid subway station name co-signage, all but four were confirmed to have been signed through private contracts, undermining the general competitive bidding process.” He emphasized, “Seoul Metro should supplement the selection criteria for station name co-signage organizations and utilize this as a means of generating revenue within the scope that does not harm public interest and citizen convenience.”
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