In South Korea, seniors aged 65 and over can ride the subway for free.
However, due to this country's system, Seoul Metro's deficit is getting worse.
A declining birthrate and aging population are expected to further worsen public finances, and there is even talk of raising the age limit for free passes.
Seoul Metro, the operator of the subway system in Seoul, suffered a net loss of around 1 trillion won annually since 2020, with an accumulated net loss of 14 trillion won.
A similar problem is occurring at the Korea Railroad Corporation.