Delinquent Debtor Registry Listing Approved
Increase in Climate Companion Card Misuse
"Current Surcharge 30 Times the Base Fare, Targeting Increase to 50 Times"
Seoul Metro has announced its intention to hold fare evaders fully accountable both civilly and criminally in order to establish proper order in subway usage. It was recently reported that the company charged a man 18 million won in fare evasion penalties after he used a preferential card registered under his mother's name approximately 400 times.
According to Seoul Metro on June 30, the average number of fare evasion cases detected annually from 2022 to 2024 was about 56,000, with the total amount of surcharges exceeding 2.6 billion won. In the first half of this year alone, 27,000 cases of fare evasion were detected, and about 1.3 billion won in surcharges were collected.
Among the cases disclosed by Seoul Metro, a man in his 40s, referred to as Mr. A, used a preferential card registered under his mother, who is in her 60s, 414 times between March and July 2024, commuting between his home at Kkachisan Station and his workplace at Gimpo Airport Station. An employee at Kkachisan Station, Mr. B, analyzed the electronic records, cross-referenced Mr. A's usage data for the preferential card with CCTV footage, and identified Mr. A as a fare evader. As a result, Seoul Metro charged Mr. A approximately 18 million won in surcharges for 414 instances of fare evasion.
However, Mr. A refused to pay the surcharge. In response, Seoul Metro filed both a criminal complaint and a civil lawsuit against him and obtained a court ruling from the Seoul Southern District Court, allowing the company to collect the surcharge and delayed interest. Following the ruling, Seoul Metro applied to the Seoul Southern District Court to conduct a property inquiry and have Mr. A listed on the delinquent debtor registry, which was approved.
A promotional flyer for the Climate Companion Card is posted at Gwanghwamun Station on Subway Line 5 in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung
Additionally, Seoul Metro is focusing on cracking down on the misuse of the Climate Companion Card, which has seen a sharp increase in use recently. According to Seoul Metro on June 24, there were 3,950 cases of fare evasion involving the Climate Companion Card detected between January and May 2024. These cases were identified by station staff monitoring at ticket gates and by reviewing CCTV footage and gate data to spot suspected card misuse.
Going forward, Seoul Metro plans to regularly conduct awareness campaigns and promotional activities to prevent fare evasion among subway users. The company also plans to continuously propose amendments to the Railroad Business Act to relevant authorities, aiming to increase the current surcharge from 30 times the base fare to 50 times.
Ma Haekeun, head of the Operations Division at Seoul Metro, stated, "Despite our ongoing efforts to establish proper subway usage order through annual fare evasion prevention campaigns and special crackdowns, fare evasion continues to occur steadily every year. We hope that the awareness that fare evasion is a clear criminal act will become widespread, so that everyone uses valid tickets and fare evasion is eradicated."
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