President Lee Jae-myung said on the 24th to "look into limiting free public transportation use for older adults who go out for leisure or for a stroll during commuting hours." The remark came during a Cabinet meeting discussing energy-saving measures as oil prices rise amid the Middle East crisis.
At the Cabinet meeting that day, the president told Minister Kim Seong-hwan of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, "It seems you are considering increasing support for public transportation use in this supplementary budget. Please study whether we can limit older adults' free use for just one or two hours during the commuting 'peak time.'"
The president said, "There will be people commuting to work, so it may not be easy to distinguish," but added, "Isn't it tough because the concentration of office workers is high during commuting hours?" He then told the Minister Kim, "Study it together with the Ministry of Health and Welfare."
People age 65 and older currently use public transportation such as subways for free. The free-use age was set at 65 in 1984 and has remained in place to this day.