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Seoul Metro Line No. 4 faces delays after derailment, protest

Published: 25 Nov. 2025, 10:15 Updated: 25 Nov. 2025, 16:15

Commuters fill the Seoul Station subway platform, Line No. 4, on Nov. 25. [NEWS1]

Commuters on Seoul Metro Line No. 4 faced major delays Tuesday morning due to both a derailment and a protest, with trains skipping stations and running behind schedule.

Around 5:10 a.m., a maintenance train derailed at Oido Station in Siheung, Gyeonggi. The incident occurred when four of the train's 15 cars detached from the rear and left the tracks.

As a result, 45 trains on Line No. 4 and two connecting lines — the Suin Bundang Line and the Seohae Line — were delayed by 10 to 50 minutes. The Suin Bundang Line shares tracks with Line No. 4 between Oido and Handaeap Station, while the Seohae Line overlaps at Choji Station.

The Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail) completed track repairs by 7:48 a.m., about two and a half hours after the incident.

“A track obstruction at the Siheung rail yard affected train operations, causing delays on Line No. 4, the Suin Bundang Line and the Seohae Line,” a Korail representative said. “Trains are now operating normally, but some residual effects from the incident may remain.”

Korail is investigating the cause of the derailment.

Meanwhile, Line No. 4 trains skipped Hyehwa Station earlier in the morning due to a protest by the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD).

At 8:28 a.m., Seoul Metro issued a safety alert stating that trains were bypassing the southbound platform at Hyehwa Station due to a demonstration. SADD members began a protest at the station around 8 a.m., demanding increased government funding for disability rights, and clashed with police during the morning rush hour.

The group has staged similar morning protests in recent days. On Monday, activists boarded a northbound train on Line No. 1 at Yeongdeungpo Station with around 1,000 passengers on board, delaying the train by approximately 20 minutes.

Train service at Hyehwa Station resumed at 8:59 a.m.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]