Korail to Double Penalty Fees for Refunds on 'No-Show' Tickets During Lunar New Year

Special Transport Period for Lunar New Year 'No-Show' Prevention Measures
Double Penalty Fees from the 24th to the 2nd of Next Month

KTX trains are waiting near Haengsin Station in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Yonhap News.

#. This year, if Mr. A, who successfully booked a KTX economy seat from Seoul to Busan during the holiday period, cancels the ticket 3 hours before departure, the cancellation penalty will increase from 6,000 won to 12,000 won.

Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) announced on the 5th that it will double the refund penalty for Lunar New Year train tickets for ten days from the 24th of this month to the 2nd of next month. This measure aims to prevent mass ticket hoarding and 'no-show' damages during the holiday period.

According to KORAIL, the train refund penalty is 400 won up to 2 days before the departure time, 5% of the ticket price one day before, 10% of the ticket price if canceled up to 3 hours before departure on the day, 20% from 3 hours before departure until the departure time, and 30% within 20 minutes after departure.

During this special Lunar New Year transportation period, these penalties will be doubled. For example, for a Yongsan~Jeonju KTX economy seat (ticket price: 34,400 won), if the reservation is canceled 3 hours before departure on the day, the penalty was previously 3,400 won, but during the special transportation period, it will be 6,800 won. According to the passenger transport terms and conditions, when calculating the penalty, amounts less than 100 won are discarded up to 50 won, and amounts exceeding 50 won are rounded up to 100 won.

KORAIL is implementing this measure to reduce empty seats caused by 'no-shows' after ticket reservations during the holiday period. During last year's Chuseok holiday, 45.2% (2.25 million tickets) of the issued tickets were refunded, and among these, 4.9% (240,000 seats) were operated as empty seats without being resold.

Lee Min-seong, head of KORAIL's Customer Marketing Division, said, "This measure is implemented to minimize 'no-show' damages during the holiday period so that those visiting their hometowns can ride trains comfortably. We hope it will be an opportunity for everyone to reaffirm their responsibility regarding reservations."