Subway fare evaders face crackdown from March

Subway fare evaders will face an intensive crackdown in Seoul.

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Seoul City said Wednesday its two subway operators, one operating lines 1-4 and the other lines 5-8, and the private operator of line 9, will jointly clamp down on fare evaders for a month from March 5.

According to the law, those who ride the subway without paying should pay the fare plus a fine of 30 times the original tariff.

"Not only fare evaders but also those using improper discount passes are subject to the crackdown, such as an adult using discount travel cards for children, ineligible people using complimentary passes for the elderly, or able-bodied people using a free pass for the disabled", a city official said.

The clampdown will be strengthened especially in the early morning, late evening and afternoon off-peak times when fare evasion and other unlawful riders frequently use the trains.

"These people sometimes take advantage of emergency gates which are opened. So we'll keep the gates closed and open them only for passengers who really need to use them", he said.

Last year, the subway operators caught 17,331 passengers travelling illegally on lines 1-9, collecting 484 million won in fines. Among them, 73.5 percent were fare dodgers, 16.6 percent wrongly used passes for the elderly or disabled and 9.9 percent were adults using children's passes.

By Kim Rahn