"This Station is Seongsu, Olive Young Station"... CJ Olive Young Wins Station Naming Rights for 1 Billion KRW

Gangnam Station Sets New Record as 'Harup Plant Dental Clinic Station'

Seongsu Station on Seoul Subway Line 2 has also come to be known as 'Olive Young Station.' This is because CJ Olive Young participated in the 'paid station name co-naming' bidding and won the bid for 1 billion KRW.

Crowded Seongsu Station Exit 3 Photo by Yonhap News

According to Seoul Metro on the 12th, among 10 stations on Lines 1 to 8 where the paid station name co-naming project bidding was held from the 25th of last month to the 6th of this month, Seongsu Station and Gangnam Station on Line 2, Yeouinaru Station on Line 5, and Sangbong Station on Line 7 were successfully bid.

Station name co-naming refers to adding a secondary station name alongside the existing station name. The secondary name can be displayed on 10 types of targets, including pole sign station name plates, entrance station name plates, platform station name plates, safety door station name plates, single and comprehensive route maps on safety doors, and single route maps on trains.

The reason CJ Olive Young chose Seongsu Station is because they plan to open the largest store in Korea in Seongsu-dong. They have also completed a lease contract with the recently completed 'Factorial Seongsu.'

Gangnam Station was won by 'Haroo Plant Dental Clinic' for 1.111 billion KRW, setting a record for the highest bid ever. The previous highest bid was 870 million KRW by Shinhan Card at Euljiro 3-ga Station on Lines 2 and 3, but Gangnam Station surpassed this in the recent bidding. Yeouinaru Station was finally won by 'Eugene Investment & Securities' for 222 million KRW. Sangbong Station had a single bidder and signed a private contract, but detailed information such as the institution name has not yet been disclosed.

To participate in the station name co-naming bidding, the company or institution must be located within 1 km of the target station (within Seoul city limits; extended to within 2 km for outside the city). The winning company or institution can display their desired institution name as the secondary station name for the next three years, with the possibility of one contract extension (3 years) without re-bidding. Seoul Metro has been implementing this project since 2016 to alleviate financial difficulties.

Considering the public interest nature of station names, the Metro holds a review committee after the bidding to decide the final winning institution. After winning, the secondary station name is officially implemented by replacing a total of 10 guide signs, including announcements, over 60 days.

In this bidding, six stations?Jonggak Station on Line 1, Sillim Station on Line 2, Dapsimni Station on Line 5, Sadang Station on Lines 2 and 4, Samgakji Station on Lines 4 and 6, and Nowon Station on Lines 4 and 7?failed to attract bids. The Metro plans to reannounce the paid station name co-naming sales for these stations within this month.