Mayors reignite debate on free metro rides for elderly

Social Affairs

Published: 03 Feb. 2023, 17:25 Updated: 03 Feb. 2023, 18:34

Mayors reignite debate on free metro rides for elderly

A senior citizen waits to receive a metro pass for the elderly from a kiosk in Jongno Station, central Seoul, on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Social media posts by the heads of two of Korea's largest cities have sparked another round of debate over the contentious issue of free metro rides for the elderly.

“The hike in public transportation fares is the pebble in our shoes, but the gut issue is how to reorganize the social welfare system in a rapidly aging society,” Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon said in a Facebook post on Friday. “We cannot strain our future generation.”

Oh also said that he will be “open to all possibilities” in his talks with the National Assembly, the central government and civic groups to decide optimal fare discounts according to income, age and service hours.

“We need to pursue a fundamental improvement in the system based on public consensus.”

In another Facebook post on Tuesday, Oh urged the central government to help the city with mounting subway deficits.

“Seoul Metro has suffered a 1 trillion won ($815 million) deficit each year since the Covid-19 pandemic, and the losses from free rides account for 30 percent of the debt,” he said. “Seoul Metro would have already gone bankrupt if it was a private company.”

The Seoul mayor added that governmental support may slow hikes for public transportation fares. Bus and metro fares are scheduled to rise by a few hundred won in April.

Meanwhile, Daegu mayor Hong Joon-pyo also wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday that the metropolitan government is looking to raise the age for free metro rides in the city from 65 to 70.

“UN reports classify people of ages 18 to 65 as 'young,' 66 to 79 as 'middle-aged' and those above 80 as 'elderly,'" wrote Hong. “It is imperative to redefine the age for the elderly and fall in line with the era of centenarians.”

Daegu mayor Hong Jun-pyo speaks in a press meeting on Jan. 16. [YONHAP]

As compensation, Daegu plans to allow senior citizens over the age of 70 to ride city buses for free. The city will be the first jurisdiction to implement free bus fares for the elderly.

The history of free rides for the elderly dates back to 1980, when senior citizens above the age of 70 received 50 percent discounts for metro fares.

The age was lowered to 65 the following year under a newly established welfare act. Metro rides became completely free for the elderly under the Chun Doo Hwan administration in 1984 and have remained so to this day.

Critics have long blamed the free-ride policy for chronic deficits suffered by metro authorities. Seoul Metro blamed free rides for causing 278-billion-won in losses in 2021, close to 30 percent of its total debt, said Oh.

City governments already frustrated by the free ride policy will soon have another reason for displeasure, with Statistics Korea predicting that people over the age of 65 will account for more than 20 percent of Korea’s population by 2025.

City governments have been urging the national government, which laid the legal ground for the free ride policy, to make up the spiraling losses.

“The Ministry of Economy and Finance should not look at the free ride issue with its arms folded, since it is a government-led welfare policy,” Oh said on Friday.

Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks at a press conference at City Hall on Jan. 30. [YONHAP]

Currently, only the state-owned Korea Railroad Corporation receives financial support from the central government for free rides.

Younger people are particularly keen to cut back on free rides for the elderly.

An internet post on Wednesday called for “raising the free ride age to 85,” explaining that the elderly population has grown since the metro first opened and that elderly people enjoy many other waivers.

The comments said free rides should be banned entirely and that the policy is unfair to senior citizens who live far from metro stations.

Some elderly people address the issue from a different angle.

Korea Senior Citizens Association deputy secretary general Lee Jeong-bok said while the government has set 65 as the minimum age to receive senior benefits, most people retire by 60.

“Raising the age for free rides can worsen societal problems as many are left vulnerable between those years,” he said.

Lee added that extensive research should be done to see if ending free rides will actually end the deficits.

According to Lee, there are also some advantages to keeping the free rides, such as decreases medical expenses as senior citizens keep healthy with outdoor activities.

Chung Ick-joong, a social welfare professor at Ewha Women’s University, said the free ride policy is necessary to secure the elderly’s right to travel, because Korea has the highest elderly poverty rate in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and its social security system for the elderly inspires little confidence.

“Win-win approaches such as suspending free rides during rush hours might be able to resolve the feud between generations," he said.

BY HAN JEE-HYE, SOHN DONG-JOO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]