Subway to Impose Exit Untag Penalty... Adults to Be Charged Additional 1,550 Won

System to Launch from First Train on March 7, with Automatic Fare Adjustment on Next Ride
Policy Revised in Response to Cases of Avoiding Additional Charges

A new system will be implemented in Seoul's subway that imposes an additional fare if passengers do not tag their transportation cards when exiting.

According to Yonhap News Agency on March 1, Seoul Metro will introduce the "Urban Railway Exit Untag Penalty System," which charges an extra base fare upon the next entry if a passenger fails to tag their transportation card when disembarking. This policy will take effect from the first train on March 7.

Under the new system, if an exit tag is missing, the information is recorded in the system, and the base fare is automatically added the next time the same card is used to board the subway.

This rule applies to users of prepaid and postpaid transportation cards. However, it does not apply to season passes, single-use tickets, or discount tickets. The additional charge is the base fare for each ticket type: 1,550 won for adults, 900 won for teenagers, and 550 won for children. This policy applies not only to Seoul Metro lines (Lines 1 through 8 and phases 2 and 3 of Line 9) but also to all urban railway lines in the greater Seoul metropolitan area.

Citizens are tagging their transportation cards at the subway turnstiles in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Currently, subway fares are calculated based on the boarding and exit tag records of transportation cards, which determine the distance traveled. However, if the exit tag is not recorded, it becomes impossible to verify the actual travel distance, and thus no additional fare is charged. This loophole has allowed some passengers to avoid distance-based extra charges, which led to calls for improvements to the system.

According to Seoul Metro, from January to November of last year, there were about 8,000 cases per day on average where passengers failed to tag their cards upon exit on lines operated by the company. There was also controversy over fairness, as there were previously no specific penalties for passengers who only used urban railway sections and did not tag out.

In response, Seoul Metro revised the passenger transport terms and upgraded the transportation card system after discussions with other metropolitan railway operators.

Before the system is implemented, Seoul Metro has designated the end of this month as a focused publicity period and will conduct joint campaigns at major transfer stations such as Seoul Station and Hongik University Station. Information about the changes will also be provided through station notices, in-train videos, the company website, the Tta App, and official social media channels.

Haegeun Ma, Head of the Operations Division at Seoul Metro, stated, "Exit tagging is a fundamental procedure for verifying the precise travel section and fare calculation," adding, "We will establish a fair fare system so that citizens who pay their fares properly are not disadvantaged."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.