"Get Up to 100,000 Won Monthly Transportation Refund"... 'K-Pass' Launches Starting Tomorrow

Refund of 40,000 to 106,600 KRW per month when using K-Pass
Must use public transportation at least 15 times for refund

The government will launch the 'K-Pass,' a transportation card used for public transit, starting from the 1st of next month. Consumers who spent 200,000 KRW per month on public transportation are expected to receive up to 106,600 KRW back.

K-Pass Poster. [Image provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport]

The K-Pass, introduced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Metropolitan Transportation Committee, is a transportation card that refunds a certain percentage of transportation costs the following month if public transit such as buses and subways are used at least 15 times per month. However, express buses, intercity buses, airport buses, KTX, and SRT are not covered by the K-Pass.

Adults aged 19 and over can accumulate 20-53.3% of their public transportation expenses for up to 60 rides and receive the refund the next month. The accumulation rates are ▲ General (aged 35 and over) 20% ▲ Youth (aged 19-34) 30% ▲ Low-income (basic livelihood security recipients and near-poor) 53.3%. Foreigners can also use the K-Pass if they have been issued a foreigner registration card.

However, if monthly transportation expenses exceed 200,000 KRW, only 50% of the amount exceeding 200,000 KRW is eligible for the refund rate. For example, if the amount for 60 rides in a month is 220,000 KRW, 20-53.3% will be refunded on 210,000 KRW. For the excess 20,000 KRW, only 50%, i.e., 10,000 KRW, will be subject to the refund rate.

To use the K-Pass, users must obtain a K-Pass dedicated card from the websites of 10 card companies including Shinhan, Hana, and Woori. Then, they must sign up on the official K-Pass app or website and register their K-Pass card. Membership registration will be available starting from the 1st of next month.

Existing users of the Altteul Transportation Card can switch to the K-Pass by completing a membership conversion process through the Altteul Transportation Card app or website. This membership conversion process is available until June 30. After that, new users must go through the K-Pass new registration process.

The K-Pass applies to all public transportation usage nationwide after registration. However, to register, users must be registered residents in participating local governments at the time of membership registration. Also, in the first month of registration, users will receive 20-53.3% refunds even if they use public transportation fewer than 15 times.

Meanwhile, the K-Pass is a project jointly conducted by the national government, 17 metropolitan cities and provinces, and 189 cities, counties, and districts. The Metropolitan Transportation Committee will also launch the K-Pass Gyeonggi (The Gyeonggi Pass) and K-Pass Incheon (Incheon I-Pass) projects in cooperation with Gyeonggi Province and Incheon City starting from the 1st of next month. Users of K-Pass Gyeonggi and K-Pass Incheon will receive unlimited refund rates even if they use public transportation more than 60 times.