The Seoul Transportation Corporation recently announced on the 9th that it would hold a passenger legally responsible for graffiti on the Seoul subway Line 4.
According to the corporation, the graffiti incident occurred on the 26th of last month. A male passenger surnamed A boarded the train at Daeyami Station in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, around 8:40 a.m. He stood up from his seat around 9 a.m. and wandered for about 10 minutes through four train cars, writing graffiti on the interior walls. He then got off at Oido Station in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, around 9:10 a.m.
The graffiti written inside the train included phrases such as 'Is nature first or is religion first, human beings?' and 'Is the surface first?' which were difficult to understand. The graffiti was written with a black pen. Four complaints related to the graffiti were received.
A staff member from the Seoul Transportation Corporation boarded the train around 10:50 a.m., assessed the situation, and reported it to the police. The train was brought into the depot around 3:50 p.m., and the corporation collected evidence. Subsequently, 10 staff members were deployed to erase the graffiti.
The Seoul Transportation Corporation stated, 'We will apply a zero-tolerance principle against this man for the illegal graffiti that marred the appearance of the train and caused discomfort to passengers using the train.' They plan to cooperate with police requests, such as providing closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, and take measures like filing for reimbursement of expenses.
The Seoul Transportation Corporation previously identified passengers who deliberately damaged trains and required them to pay for restoration expenses. On March 2, 2023, a passenger removed a window from a train and did not return it; the corporation requested an investigation by the police to locate this passenger. A passenger who intentionally damaged the glass doors of a train on Line 6 last November also paid for restoration expenses.
Park Byung-seop, head of the Vehicle Headquarters at the Seoul Transportation Corporation, noted, 'We will apply a zero-tolerance principle and seek legal responsibility for illegal subway actions that create discomfort, such as deliberately damaging trains.'