Choo Mi-ae, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Gyeonggi governor, announced a "Seoul metropolitan area One Pass" pledge that would allow Gyeonggi, Seoul and Incheon to be used with a single transit card ahead of the June 3 local elections. The government is implementing a nationwide policy to resolve complaints of discrimination outside the capital region stemming from a public transit fare reimbursement program that had centered on the capital area, yet another capital-centric pledge has emerged. Two years earlier, in the 2024 general election, the People Power Party put forward a similar pledge, from its name to its benefits.
◇ "one pass for the capital region" returns to the ballot after 2 years, with the party switched
As one of the implementation measures for the No. 1 pledge, the "30-minute commute transformation in the capital region," Choo said the campaign would push to introduce a capital region One Pass. The One Pass would bundle into one the various regional transit cards—Gyeonggi (The Gyeonggi Pass), Seoul (Climate Companion Card), and Incheon (i-Pass).
Choo plans to push the One Pass together with Democratic Party capital-region metropolitan candidates. Choo, Seoul mayoral candidate Chong Won-o, and Incheon mayoral candidate Park Chan-dae discussed capital-region transit cards at the National Assembly in April as they agreed to craft common pledges and conduct joint campaigning. Choo then said on SBS' Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show on the 13th that "there is consensus among the candidates on introducing the One Pass," adding that "we agreed on the principles with Chong and Park." If opposition candidates all win in the capital region, the campaign plans to begin related procedures, such as commissioning research.
The One Pass resembles a pledge the People Power Party put forward in the general election two years ago. In March 2024, Won Hee-ryong, then a co-chair of the People Power Party's election committee, proposed a "capital-region One Pass" at a committee meeting. Afterward, People Power Party candidates in Gyeonggi and Incheon—such as Kim Yong-tae (Goyang-jung) and Lee Yong (Hanam-gap) in Gyeonggi, and Yoon Sang-hyun (Dong·Michuhol-eul) and Kim Gi-heung (Yeonsu-eul) in Incheon—posted the phrase "introduction of an unlimited public transit flat-rate pass for the capital region" on social media (SNS) against the party's symbolic red background.
◇ Nationwide "Everyone's Card" already in place to address regional imbalance
Since December last year, the government has been operating the nationwide "Everyone's Card." Regardless of residence, if you use public transit anywhere in the country, a set percentage (20%–53.5%) is reimbursed, or all spending above a set amount (30,000–100,000 won) is returned. The reimbursement funding is split evenly between the central government and local governments. Only Seoul receives 40% from the central government, while all others receive 50%.
Everyone's Card is a measure to address problems with the public transit fare reimbursement program being concentrated in the capital region. It supports local governments that lack fiscal capacity to allocate ample reimbursement budgets by using central government funds. Kim Kyeong-soo, then chairperson of the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development and now the Democratic Party's Gyeongnam governor candidate, said on SNS, "Until now, the public transit fare reimbursement program has been operated with a focus on the capital region," adding, "In that process, those living outside the capital region had no choice but to feel it was discrimination based on region." He continued, "Public transit is more inconvenient in the provinces, and in many cases the burden of transit costs is greater," adding, "Everyone's Card is a change aimed at correcting this imbalance."
Separately, introducing the capital-region One Pass would require dedicated funding. Multiple officials at local governments in the capital region said, "There is already a nationwide tool that can receive central government support," adding, "If you want to introduce a transit card usable only in a specific region, you will have to inject your own funds."
Chong's side also pointed out this dual-burden structure. Ko Min-jung, co-director of Chong's campaign, said in a commentary on the 6th about Seoul's Climate Companion Card, "Seoul is already bearing city funds for Everyone's Card, which is a central-local matching program, and on top of that is separately operating its own season ticket, the Climate Companion Card," adding, "In terms of the fiscal structure, Seoul is paying into a government program on one side, and on the other side is covering deficits from its own program." The Climate Companion Card is funded entirely by city funds.