Seoul Metro's Efforts to Improve Senior Welfare Including Creation of Customized Jobs for the Elderly

Senior Elevator Safety Team, Senior Logistics Managers, and Other Elderly Workforce Active Throughout Subway... Ensuring Elderly Mobility and Health Rights with Senior Discount Passes... Contributing to Elderly Transportation Welfare... Recognized for Efforts to Create Senior Jobs, Awarded Institutional Commendation on the 27th Senior Citizens' Day

It is common to see elderly individuals wearing safety vests and holding light batons busily moving around various locations in the Seoul subway to ensure citizen safety. These are senior workers employed by Seoul Metro to enhance citizen convenience and safety.

Seoul Metro (President Baek Ho) stated that it will continue to promote elderly welfare by providing high-quality jobs for seniors who wish to work, thereby offering opportunities for income generation and social participation. The company is also persistently requesting continued government funding to ensure the stable maintenance of the free transportation system that guarantees seniors’ mobility and health rights.

The company operates senior-tailored jobs such as the ‘Senior Elevator Safety Team’ and ‘Senior Logistics Manager.’ These roles aim to provide seniors who wish to work with stable income for a secure retirement while offering opportunities for social engagement.

Seoul Metro is continuously expanding the scale and scope of senior employment. Through this, it seeks to improve social awareness regarding the utilization of elderly labor as a public institution and encourage participation from the private sector.

The company has signed a business agreement with the Korea Senior Human Resources Development Institute and is closely collaborating to create more job opportunities for seniors. In March and July, Seoul Metro and the Institute signed agreements to facilitate the smooth operation and expansion of the ‘Senior Elevator Safety Team’ and ‘Senior Logistics Manager’ programs.

The senior workers hired by Seoul Metro are stationed throughout subway stations under the company’s jurisdiction, ensuring passenger safety and providing convenience for subway users.

The ‘Senior Elevator Safety Team’ currently operates with 282 members across 20 stations. They guide passengers to stay within the safety lines on escalators and assist those carrying luggage by directing them to elevators, ensuring safe use of vertical transportation. Since the team mainly works beside elevators, they play a crucial role in quickly responding to falls or accidents, greatly contributing to safety.

Additionally, 52 ‘Senior Logistics Managers’ deliver cargo generated at 269 Seoul subway stations by subway to storage lockers near the intended destination stations.

Furthermore, as part of the Seoul Companion Job Project, 244 out of 320 ‘Subway Safety Helpers’ hired are seniors. These helpers work at 87 stations, assisting with passenger guidance, accident prevention, and station patrols to help maintain station safety.

Meanwhile, Seoul Metro provides transportation welfare to vulnerable groups, including seniors, through free transportation services. In particular, the senior discount pass enables free and unrestricted travel for seniors without economic burden, promoting leisure activities, reducing depression, improving health, and stimulating tourism, thereby generating socioeconomic benefits. Seoul Metro plans to continue requesting government support for the Public Service Obligation (PSO) costs to ensure the stable maintenance of the senior discount pass.

Besides guaranteeing seniors’ mobility and health rights from a transportation welfare perspective, the senior discount pass should also be approached from a ‘green welfare’ perspective, as it contributes to carbon reduction through the activation of public transportation.

As a result of efforts to improve elderly welfare, Seoul Metro was recognized for its contribution to improving social awareness of elderly labor utilization and creating senior jobs as a public institution, receiving the Minister of Health and Welfare’s Institutional Commendation at the 27th Senior Citizens’ Day.

According to the Elderly Welfare Act, the government designates October 2 every year as Senior Citizens’ Day and October as Senior Month to raise social interest and respect for the elderly.

Baek Ho, President of Seoul Metro, said, “The company has been striving to improve elderly welfare by creating senior jobs in various fields and providing the senior discount pass to guarantee seniors’ mobility and health rights. We will continue to do our best to become a Seoul subway system that walks together with seniors by creating high-quality senior jobs as a public institution.”

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