The "transportation card" program was adopted in 2004 as part of the city government's reorganization of the transportation system. There were minor errors back then as well; for example, someone might be charged twice for the same ride. That was when the program was just getting started, however, and it is hard to understand how a year and six months later similar computer errors continue to occur.
The biggest problem is the audacious attitude of Korea Smart Card, which operates the T Money cards. For months now it has been repeating the statement that it is working on the problem, without ever saying what the problem is. Bus and subway companies say they cannot verify card use histories. You have to go to the company and check yourself, and who is going to go through that much trouble for a few hundred or a few thousand Won? Saying they cannot verify card histories because of the need to protect user privacy is just an excuse.
Despite the situation, Korea Smart Card has never been subjected to an audit or supervisory action by the city government, which is responsible for oversight. It is transportation companies that end up with less income when card errors occur. The city, therefore, is guilty of negligence of duty for entrusting the financial transactions to a private company and then saying it has no apparatus in place to the company in check. There were rumors of favoritism when the company was initially contracted, so there is little the city can say for itself it is suspected of protecting it.
Last year Seoul Metro counted 15,000 card errors in the period of a week. There has to be transparent clarification of what the reasons for the errors are and how much they have cost. There has to be a quick resolution to the unfair practices between transportation companies and the company that operates the cards.
The Hankyoreh, 20 January 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
