Seoul City’s two subway transit corporations will double the number of security guards starting Monday, officials said Friday.
According to Seoul Metropolitan Government, 84 more security guards will patrol lines one through eight, coinciding with the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit which starts Monday.
Responding to a public outcry against subway crime, Seoul Metro and Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation have had security personnel patrolling the station and cars since September.
According to the capital, most of the guards are martial arts experts who have previous work experience in security companies.
The 84 additional guards have been trained to respond to crimes and take preemptive action.
Seoul City reports that from September to January, guards have responded to 6,726 illegal venders, 4,759 intoxicated passengers, 3,854 newspaper collectors, 2,211 beggars, and 1,997 homeless passengers. The capital also reported that the guards responded to 10 cases of sexual harassment.
The guards patrol in pairs from 7 a.m. to the last car of the day.
By Robert Lee (
robert@heraldcorp.com)
