Seoul Metro 90% Renewal of Paid Station Name Sponsorship... Business Expansion

Scheduled Priority Bidding in June for 8 Stations Including Myeongdong and Euljiroipgu with Contracts Ending in 2022... Cost Survey Results Reflected for 100 Stations Subject to Dual Listing, Sequential Bidding 3-4 Times from Q2

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Seoul Metro (President Kim Sang-beom) announced that it will gradually expand the paid station name co-signage project, which has been underway since 2016, starting from the second quarter of this year.

Station name co-signage refers to adding a secondary station name in parentheses next to or below the main station name of an individual subway station. The principle is to display both Korean and English notations.

The paid station name co-signage project was first launched in 2016 to resolve numerous requests from various organizations and companies for secondary station name signage and to discover new revenue sources. After the integration of Seoul Metro and Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation in 2021, the project resumed, and currently, 29 organizations have paid co-signage at 33 stations (including transfer stations).

The predecessor companies of the corporation, Seoul Metro and Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation, started the paid station name co-signage project in 2016-2017. After the two companies merged into Seoul Metro, a total of 7 stations and 5 organizations have newly participated in the project.

The eight stations, including Myeong-dong and Euljiro 1(il)-ga, which were first co-signed in 2016, will undergo public bidding primarily in June as their six-year contract period (3 years + one 3-year extension) expires.

Additionally, the corporation has newly selected 50 stations with high preference and business potential and will sequentially expand the project starting from the second quarter of this year. The final selection of the new 50 stations will be made after conducting a cost investigation.

The corporation selected 100 stations considering the demand for station name co-signage and the number of passengers per station on lines 1 to 8, conducted a cost investigation, and based on the results, will select 50 stations as priority targets.

Paid station name co-signage offers a win-win advantage by providing credible promotional opportunities for organizations and companies, while offering additional information to station users through the co-signed secondary station names. Companies and organizations that have previously signed station name co-signage contracts are satisfied with the high promotional effect, showing about a 90% contract renewal rate as of April 2022, indicating its popularity.

Public institutions, companies, schools, hospitals, and multi-use facilities located within 1 km of the target stations can participate in the paid station name co-signage project bidding through public bidding. The successful bidder can display the desired organization name as the secondary station name at the target station for three years, and if desired, may extend the contract once without re-bidding.

If multiple organizations submit the same bid amount, the organization with higher public interest and convenience for citizens will be selected.

The winning organization must not harm the corporation’s image, and the final decision will be made after review by the paid station name co-signage sales committee following the bidding.

Changes and maintenance of station name guide signs are the responsibility of the winning bidder and can be carried out in consultation with the corporation within 60 days after contract signing.

Secondary station names can be displayed on 10 types of targets, including pole sign station name plates, entrance station name plates, platform station name plates, safety door station name plates, single and comprehensive route maps on safety doors, and single route maps on trains.

Jung Sun-in, Head of the New Growth Headquarters at Seoul Metro, said, “This paid station name co-signage project will help somewhat in overcoming the corporation’s financial difficulties, and we will proceed with the project considering public interest.” He also said, “Station name co-signage is an effective way to enhance corporate brand value at a reasonable cost through the symbolic significance of the station’s region,” and added, “We hope for the interest and participation of many organizations and companies.”

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