Lee High-Speed Rail Discounts vs Yoon Rehabilitation Robot Health Insurance

Announcing the So-hwak-haeng and Sim-kung Pledges Separately

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is waving to citizens as he attends the 'Maetaverse Goyang, Into the Hearts of the People!' event held at Hwajeong Station Cultural Square in Gyeonggi-do on the 26th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunju Lee and Gimin Lee] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, has announced a practical pledge to integrate the Suseo High-Speed Railway (SRT) and KTX and offer discounted fares. Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, responded by pledging to apply health insurance coverage to rehabilitation robots.

On the 26th, Lee posted on his Facebook page the 53rd installment of his ‘So-hwak-haeng (small but certain happiness)’ series, which includes plans to integrate SRT and KTX and enhance public benefits through fare discounts.

Lee stated, "SRT mainly operates on profitable regional routes," adding, "Residents in other regions face discrimination due to reduced access to Gangnam and do not receive transfer discounts with regular trains." He further emphasized, "We will enable direct travel without transfers from Suseo high-speed railway to not only Busan and Gwangju but also Changwon, Pohang, Jinju, Miryang, Jeonju, Namwon, Suncheon, and Yeosu," and "We will lower KTX fares by 10% to match those of SRT." He also said, "Transfer discounts will be applied between SRT and regular trains such as Saemaeul and Mugunghwa," and added, "By integrating operations of both companies, we will reduce unnecessary waiting times and the number of stops, thereby increasing the frequency of high-speed train services." His plan envisions that profits from the integration will help cover deficits in regular rail services.

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is attending and delivering a greeting at the policy discussion hosted by the Global Vision Committee titled "A Global Hub Nation Contributing to Freedom, Peace, and Prosperity" held at the National Assembly on the 26th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

On the same day, Yoon Seok-yeol announced a pledge to promote walking therapy using rehabilitation robots. As the 21st promise in his ‘Seok-yeol’s Heart-throbbing Promise’ series, he proposed raising medical fees for rehabilitation robots and expanding health insurance coverage. According to Yoon’s camp, the number of rehabilitation patients receiving walking therapy reaches 200,000 annually, and stroke patients number about 630,000, but due to the high cost of equipment, actual usage by patients in need remains low. They also pointed out problems such as the absence of a dedicated department for the rehabilitation robot industry and that selective medical benefits apply only to a very limited number of patients.

Yoon said, "Recently, wearable rehabilitation robots and rehabilitation robot walking trainers have been developed worldwide and have proven their effectiveness in medical settings," adding, "There are companies showing results domestically, but support to encourage their growth is insufficient." He concluded, "We plan to strengthen research and industrial support related to rehabilitation robots."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.