"Laws That Do Not Compensate for Free-Ride Losses Are Unconstitutional"... Seoul Metro Files Constitutional Complaint

Free-ride eligibility expansion drives sharp increase in fare revenue losses
“Violates constitutional property and equality rights”

Seoul Metro, headed by President Kim Taegyun, has filed a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court of Korea, arguing that it is unconstitutional for the government not to compensate the company for revenue losses resulting from free rides for people of national merit and other eligible passengers.

Seoul Metro said on October 9 that it had submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court on October 8 seeking a constitutional review of provisions on free rides in four laws, including the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons of National Merit, as well as some provisions of the Framework Act on the Development of the Railway Industry.

In its petition, Seoul Metro identified as the central issue that the laws, including the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons of National Merit, require the company to provide free rides but contain no provisions for paying subsidies to cover its losses. The company argued that this violates Article 23(3) of the Constitution, which stipulates that restrictions on property rights for public necessity must be accompanied by just compensation, and excessively infringes on its property rights by imposing a “special sacrifice” on the company alone.

The petition also alleges discriminatory treatment. Seoul Metro said that although it operates about 2.8 times as many trains as Korail (299 versus 107) on the Ogeum-Daehwa section of Subway Line 3, the government provides subsidies for free rides only to Korail, violating the company’s right to equality. The government allocated KRW 399.6 billion this year for Korail’s Public Service Obligation (PSO) subsidies.

According to Seoul Metro, its losses related to passengers eligible for free rides under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs rose from KRW 2.9 billion in 2020 to KRW 3.9 billion last year. This increase was due to a January 2023 revision to the Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons Eligible for Veteran's Compensation, which added military personnel and public officials injured in the line of duty to the eligible passengers. Seoul Metro said it had repeatedly requested subsidies from the ministry, but its requests were rejected on the grounds that no budget had been allocated.

In July last year, Seoul Metro filed a lawsuit against the government seeking the return of unjust enrichment of more than KRW 3.7 billion in losses incurred in 2024, but the case was dismissed by a district court in September this year.

Seoul Metro said that, after reviewing the ruling, it had concluded that challenging the constitutionality of the laws would be more advantageous than appealing. If the court rules the provisions unconstitutional, the company plans to seek a retrial in the finalized civil case and obtain subsidies. It also plans to call for government-level measures to address losses stemming from free rides for people aged 65 and older.

“Supporting free rides as a way of honoring people of national merit and others is a duty that both the state and Seoul Metro must fulfill,” President Kim Taegyun said. “We hope this constitutional complaint will bring the difficulties facing the company into public discussion and help create conditions for us to receive fair subsidies for generating public benefits.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.