[2025 National Audit] Over 700 Cases of Verbal Abuse, Assault, and Injury Against Railway Workers in Five Years

The number of crimes such as verbal abuse, assault, and injury against railway workers has exceeded 700 cases over the past five years, according to recent findings.

On October 21, Min Hongchul, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee (Democratic Party of Korea, Gimhae Gap, South Gyeongsang Province), citing data received from Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) and the Railway Special Judicial Police, reported that a total of 726 crimes were committed against station staff and train crew between 2020 and 2024.

Min Hongchul. Photo provided by the office of the member of the National Assembly

By type of crime, violations of the Railway Safety Act accounted for 347 cases, representing 49.2% of the total. Other crimes, including property damage and embezzlement, accounted for 192 cases (26.4%), followed by injury and assault crimes with 74 cases (10.2%).

Among these, "obstruction of official duties," a type of Railway Safety Act violation, occurred 365 times, indicating that acts of interfering with employees’ legitimate work through assault or threats are frequent at worksites.

Of the 365 victims of obstruction of official duties, 256 (70.1%) were station staff and 109 (29.9%) were train crew, showing that station staff, who have more direct contact with passengers, are relatively more exposed to such crimes. In cases of injury and assault, 65 incidents targeted station staff, accounting for 88% of the total.

The current Railway Safety Act (Article 79) stipulates that anyone who obstructs the duties of a railway worker through assault or threats may be sentenced to up to five years in prison or fined up to 50 million won. However, Min pointed out that crimes against railway workers continue to occur in the field.

Min emphasized, "Railway workers operate in an environment where they are constantly exposed to verbal abuse and threats, and such risks can negatively impact the safety of railway users as well. There is an urgent need for realistic and robust protection measures to ensure that railway workers can work with peace of mind."

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