Number of open seats during last year’s Chuseok neared 60,000 per day, data shows

The KTX and other trains ran with nearly 60,000 empty seats each day during last year's Chuseok harvest festival holiday, according to data shared on Wednesday.

Trains had 643,000 empty seats during the special travel period from Oct. 2 to 12 of last year, averaging 58,500 empty seats a day, Democratic Party Rep. Yeom Tae-young said, citing information from the Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail).

There were a total of 389,000 empty seats during this year's Lunar New Year holiday travel period from Feb. 13 to 18, or an average of 64,800 empty seats a day.

Unauthorized boarding has also continued to increase.

Korail recorded 5,629 cases of unauthorized boarding during the 2024 Lunar New Year holiday. The number rose to 6,768 cases last year and 8,389 cases this year.

The amount of unpaid fares and penalties also increased, from 193 million won ($141,000) in 2024 to 208 million won last year and 367 million won this year. During Chuseok last year, Korail recorded 7,044 cases of unauthorized boarding worth 283 million won.

“Competition for tickets is fierce, but trains still run with empty seats," Rep. Yeom said. "People also continue to cancel tickets in ways that exploit loopholes and board trains without valid tickets. We need to stop these practices effectively and make sure limited seats go to people who really need them.”

A Korail official said most people travel away from Seoul before and during Lunar New Year holiday, while more people travel back to Seoul starting the next day. 

“Many seats remain empty on trains heading toward destinations where people return to their hometowns,” the official said. “We are offering discounted tickets for these trains to reduce the number of empty seats.”

The data points to a mismatch between strong demand for tickets during major holidays and actual ridership. However, the figures alone do not show how many empty seats resulted from cancellations, no-shows or other factors.

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]