Seoul Metro Wins Prime Minister's Award at the 2023 Active Administration Best Practices Competition

Plan for Elevator Installation at Sangildong Station Secured for One Line at All Seoul Subway Stations... "Accelerating Elevator Installation at 17 Stations Without One Line to Enhance Convenience for Transportation-Disadvantaged"

Seoul Metro (President Baek Ho) announced on the 8th that it was selected as the top award-winning institution in the local public corporations and public organizations category at the '2023 Active Administration Best Practices Competition' jointly hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Personnel Management, receiving the 2023 Active Administration Prime Minister's Award.

The 2023 Active Administration Best Practices Competition is a system designed to discover and disseminate achievements of change and innovation through active administration, aiming to induce innovation in public service culture such as improving regulatory administrative behaviors and culture. The competition is conducted through preliminary rounds (1st and 2nd) and a final round (evaluated by a citizen jury, expert judges, and online public voting).

In this competition, which targeted central government ministries, local governments, public institutions, and local public corporations and organizations, Seoul Metro was recognized for its excellent achievement with the project titled "Pioneering the Silk Road of Existing Station Mobility Facilities Installation through Active Regulatory Reform," earning the Prime Minister's Award.

Prior to this, Seoul Metro was also selected as the top institution in the second half of 2023 in Seoul City's Active Administration awards for the same case.

Seoul subway platforms, planned and constructed between 1974 and 2000, initially lacked mobility facilities such as escalators and elevators for transportation-vulnerable groups.

Line 5 Sangil-dong Station, completed in 1995, was built compactly according to local conditions at the time and did not have an elevator operating between the concourse (B1) and the platform (B2). Due to the inconvenience faced by transportation-vulnerable users in using the subway, Seoul Metro began reviewing elevator installation from 2014.

Despite structural challenges such as narrow platform width and related regulations (Article 31 of the Urban Railway Construction Regulations), Seoul Metro continuously reviewed solutions to secure one elevator line per station at Sangil-dong Station.

Subsequently, in July 2020, Seoul Metro held an on-site briefing with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Seoul City, and members of the National Assembly, proposing amendments to the 'Urban Railway Construction Regulations.' Through active administration efforts, the law was finally amended on November 3, 2021, enabling elevator installation.

After conducting design services, construction at Sangil-dong Station began in June 2023, with the station scheduled to open in December 2024.

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