41 Disturbance Cases Reported on Seoul Express Trains Until Late Last Month
KORAIL Installs CCTV on All Trains and Strengthens Disturbance Control
It has been revealed that many citizens are still being expelled for causing disturbances such as drinking parties or smoking on trains.
According to Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) on the 1st, a total of 41 cases of forced disembarkation and handover to railway police due to disturbances were reported to the Seoul High-Speed Train Crew Office by the end of last month. This is a decrease compared to last year (69 cases) due to reduced enforcement following the lifting of the mandatory mask-wearing this year.
The most common case was 9 incidents of passengers boarding without purchasing tickets and refusing ticket inspections or requests to buy tickets. There were also 8 cases of disorderly conduct after drinking, 7 cases of smoking, 7 cases of verbal abuse and disturbances, 4 cases of sexual harassment and molestation, and 3 cases of violence.
There was an incident where passengers in their 20s and 30s were caught fist-fighting in the aisle of a train traveling from Daejeon to Osong, and another where a drunken passenger attempted to forcibly open the door inside a moving train from Masan to Haengsin. On a train from Seoul to Masan, four passengers took out packaged soju, lettuce, and samgyeopsal and held a drinking party.
Additionally, there were passengers who broke bathroom glass or smoked by taking advantage of the door opening at a stop, and verbally abused crew members who tried to stop them. Several cases were also reported where passengers threatened others by making a 'hand heart' gesture to a female passenger they had never met and telling her to sit next to them, as well as sexual harassment or molestation of crew members.
Violations of order on trains result in handover to the Railway Judicial Police and forced disembarkation. KORAIL and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are installing CCTV on all trains and strengthening enforcement against disturbances onboard.
Under current law, assault on trains is punishable as assault. However, a bill to increase the penalty from the general assault imprisonment of 2 years to 3 years is currently pending in the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee.
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