An average of 153 cases of fare evasion has been detected per day on the Seoul subway over the past three years. There was also a passenger who engaged in fare evasion 414 times over a period of five months.
According to the Seoul Transportation Corporation, fare evasion detected on subway lines 1 through 8 totaled 59,490 cases in 2022, 49,692 cases in 2023, and 60,719 cases last year, amounting to a total of 169,901 cases over three years. The annual average is 56,634 cases, which is about 155 cases per day.
Methods of fare evasion on the subway include ▲ using the subway without purchasing a ticket, known as "unreported fare evasion" ▲ using discounted transportation cards issued for the elderly, disabled, or veterans ▲ using student discount tickets for elementary, middle, and high school students. If caught fare evading, one must pay an additional fare equivalent to 30 times the base fare.
The Seoul Transportation Corporation has collected an average of 2.6 billion won in additional fares from passengers caught fare evading between 2022 and 2024. From January 1 to the 20th of this year, 27,000 cases of fare evasion were detected, resulting in the collection of 1.3 billion won in additional fares.
The Seoul Transportation Corporation files criminal complaints against passengers caught fare evading who refuse to pay additional fares. They also pursue civil lawsuits to collect additional fares, with a total of over 120 civil lawsuits filed against fare evaders.
Although there are no station personnel at the subway entry and exit gates, fare evaders are detected using closed-circuit television (CCTV). A Seoul Transportation Corporation official noted, "If you fare evade just because there is no staff in front of the entry and exit gates, you may face serious consequences."
A man surnamed Kim, in his 40s, used his 67-year-old mother's senior discounted transportation card 414 times while commuting from Kkachisan Station on subway line 5 to Gimpo Airport Station over five months from March to July last year. That averages about 80 times a month.
After confirming the usage data of the discount card used by Kim and the CCTV footage, the corporation caught Kim as a fare evader. When Kim refused to pay the additional fare, the corporation filed a criminal complaint against him and also initiated a civil lawsuit. The court ruled that Kim must pay the corporation 18 million won in additional fares and interest. The corporation listed Kim as a delinquent debtor after checking his assets to recover the 18 million won.
The Seoul Transportation Corporation is reviewing measures to prevent misuse of the climate companion card, which allows unlimited rides on the Seoul subway for 62,000 won per month. One of the plans is for a voice announcement saying "youth discount" or displaying the phrase "youth card" when using the youth ticket (for ages 19 to 39), which costs 7,000 won less. They have already implemented measures to make the fare gates display purple when the youth card is used. They are also considering plans to show different colors at the gates based on the issuer's gender.
The Seoul Transportation Corporation plans to propose to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other related agencies to increase the current additional fare for fare evaders from 30 times to 50 times.