Delayed Subway Fare Increase... Government Opposition and Political Turmoil

Only Gyeonggi Province and the Provincial Assembly Delay Fare Increase Proposal
Cautious Approach to Fare Hikes Amid Possible Early Presidential Election
Government Requests Restraint on Fare Increases... Seoul City Also Hesitates

The fare increase for the metropolitan subway is being delayed. Subway fares involve Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province, but the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly is delaying the approval of the increase proposal. With the government also putting a brake on public utility fee hikes ahead of the impeachment political situation, the timing of the increase may be further postponed.

According to government departments on the 3rd, the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly will proceed with the April session as scheduled. Although the assembly had planned not to hold even a temporary session due to conflicts with Governor Kim Dong-yeon, it decided to convene by shortening the schedule.

The main concern is whether the 'Metropolitan Subway Fare Increase Opinion Hearing Proposal' will be processed. It was not even submitted during the temporary session in February. To discuss it again in this plenary session, an agreement between the two negotiating groups, the Democratic Party and the People Power Party, is necessary.

The subway fare increase in the metropolitan area is being delayed. Following Seoul and Incheon, the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly may also discuss the fare hike proposal, but there are many variables amid the impeachment political turmoil.

However, within the assembly, a sentiment of burden regarding public utility fee increases is emerging ahead of the possibility of an early presidential election. There could be a standoff over which party, ruling or opposition, will take the lead in processing the subway fare increase proposal. If the resolution fails in this temporary session, attention will turn to the regular session scheduled for June.

Seoul, which operates the most lines and effectively holds the decision-making power over fare increases, has a complicated stance. Seoul announced a plan to raise subway fares by 300 won in 2023, but due to government opposition, only a 150 won increase from 1,250 won to 1,400 won was implemented at the end of the year. An additional 150 won increase planned for October last year was blocked by the government's policy to freeze public utility fees.

Meanwhile, the chronic deficit of Seoul Metro, which operates subway lines 1 through 8, has worsened. Total debt has reached 7.0833 trillion won, and the daily interest on borrowings is reportedly about 370 million won. This is why Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon asserted at the January New Year's press conference that "(the fare increase) will not go beyond March."

However, on the 2nd, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok said, "Public utility fees managed by central government departments, such as electricity, gas, and railways, will be frozen in the first half of the year by absorbing cost reduction and self-help efforts to the maximum extent." This statement drew a line against various public utility fee increase proposals, including the recent mention by Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) of the need to raise KTX high-speed train fares.

Because of this, even if the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly approves the proposal, an immediate fare increase for the metropolitan subway does not seem easy. It could also be a burdensome choice for Mayor Oh, a leading presidential candidate from the ruling party. However, Seoul does not expect the timing of the fare increase to be significantly delayed. Having postponed increases several times already, once the proposal is approved by the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly, only internal administrative procedures within Gyeonggi Province remain, so the plan is to proceed as scheduled for now.