"Let's Allow Pregnant Women to Tap Priority Seat Cards" Citizen Proposal... Reasons Why Seoul City Shakes Its Head

Complaints About Pregnant Women Seats Reach 7,000
Seoul City Says It "Could Fuel Conflict" in Response to Citizens' Proposals

Recently, a post titled "Let's install sensors that detect whether a passenger is pregnant in subway seats reserved for pregnant women" was uploaded on the Seoul city policy proposal site. Seoul City and Seoul Metro stated that there is no legal basis to prevent general passengers from sitting in seats reserved for vulnerable groups and that such measures could further escalate conflicts.

A recent post on the Seoul city policy proposal site suggested installing sensors that detect whether a passenger is pregnant in subway seats reserved for pregnant women. Seoul City and Seoul Metro stated that there is no legal basis to prevent general passengers from sitting in seats reserved for vulnerable groups and that such measures could further escalate conflicts.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 5th, a proposal with this content was posted on Seoul City's policy proposal site, "Sangsangdaero Seoul." The author, Mr. Kim, wrote, "General passengers who are not pregnant are using the seats reserved for pregnant women, undermining the original purpose and rendering the pregnant women’s seat system ineffective," adding, "Because these seats exist, it is difficult to expect more consideration in general seats."

Mr. Kim then suggested, "Let's attach sensors that can detect whether someone is seated in the pregnant women’s seats and install card taggers on both sides of these seats." Through this, if a passenger without a pregnancy card is detected sitting, a beep sound would play along with a voice message saying, “Please tag your pregnancy card.” He also proposed that if the card is not tagged, a light should turn on under the seat. The post received sympathetic comments such as, "I have seen many general passengers sitting in pregnant women’s seats during their first pregnancy. I hope this is implemented." In fact, similar systems have been introduced in urban railways in Busan and Gwangju.

Seoul City expressed that it is difficult to immediately attach detectors to pregnant women’s seats. They explained that there is no legal basis to prevent general passengers from sitting in these seats, and if warning lights or sounds are repeatedly triggered, other passengers might raise complaints. Additionally, due to the large scale of the Seoul subway compared to other regions, installing such devices on all pregnant women’s seats would incur significant costs. Seoul Metro estimated that the installation cost would be 4.6 billion KRW with an annual maintenance cost of 200 million KRW.

The pregnant women’s seats in the Seoul subway were introduced in 2013 to encourage pregnancy and childbirth and to promote a culture of consideration for pregnant women. However, complaints related to these seats have been ongoing. According to Seoul Metro, which operates subway lines 1 through 8, the number of related complaints received was 7,334 in 2022 and 7,086 in 2023. This year, 2,421 complaints had been received as of last month.

Earlier, on the 23rd, controversy arose when a man sitting in a "pregnant women’s seat" on the subway did not give up his seat despite a pregnant woman standing in front of him. Online debates ensued following a JTBC report on the incident. Some netizens commented, "We all pay the same fare, so giving up a seat is an act of consideration, not something to be forced," or "Many middle-aged women also sit in pregnant women’s seats, so why is it a problem when a man sits there?"

On the 23rd, a controversy arose when a man sitting in a 'priority seat for pregnant women' on the subway did not give up his seat despite a pregnant woman standing in front of him. At that time, there was a heated debate online regarding the JTBC report.
[Photo by JTBC 'Sageonbanjang']

The majority expressed the opinion that it is acceptable to sit in these seats when no pregnant women are around, but it is right to give up the seat when a pregnant woman boards. One netizen said, "I agree that anyone can sit comfortably in that seat, but it is normal to stand up immediately when a pregnant woman boards," while another pointed out, "It is understandable to sit when no pregnant woman is present, but it is unacceptable for a strong person to behave like that when a pregnant woman is clearly in front."

Some also criticized the social atmosphere that leads to disputes over giving up seats for pregnant women. One netizen stated, "I believe the root cause of low birth rates is more due to this kind of social atmosphere than economic reasons," adding, "Just look at subway elevators?when a mother with a stroller lines up, everyone is busy cutting in front of the stroller because they are worried they won’t be able to get on."