Metro Fare Increase in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Likely to Be Delayed by a Month or Two

Oh Sehoon: "There has been a setback in the planned fare increase"
Coordination required with Gyeonggi Province, Incheon City, and Korail

The scheduled subway fare increase in the Seoul metropolitan area, originally planned for March this year, is expected to be postponed.

On the 21st, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon responded to a question from Park Soo-bin (Democratic Party·Gangbuk 4) during the Seoul City Council's administrative inquiry about whether subway fares would increase in March, saying, "There has been a setback in the planned March fare increase."

He added, "In the case of the subway, since Seoul City, Gyeonggi Province, Incheon City, and Korail are all involved, the fare increase proposal must pass the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, but it was reported that it did not pass yesterday." The Gyeonggi Provincial Council did not submit the 'Provincial Council Opinion Hearing on the Adjustment of Urban Railway Fare Range,' which included a 150 won increase in railway fares, at the final plenary session of the extraordinary meeting held the previous day.

Seoul City had originally planned to raise subway fares by 300 won in 2023. However, following the government's request for cooperation in curbing inflation, only a 150 won increase was implemented, and the remaining 150 won was scheduled to be raised in March this year.

On the same day, Mayor Oh addressed concerns about the serious deficit issue of Seoul Metro due to the expansion of the Climate Companion Card, stating, "At least regarding transportation costs, we believe it should be resolved from a welfare perspective." Mayor Oh's stance is that "although the deficit issue is painful, we must maintain a differentiated position from other policies." The deficit caused by the Climate Companion Card is known to be about 180 billion won annually. In the case of last year, Seoul Metro bore 38 billion won of the total deficit.