Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon uses the Climate Card. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon uses the Climate Card. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

Seoul and the Metropolitan Area Transport Commission under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will launch a merged transit card — the Modu Card (Climate Card Pass) — on Sept. 1. The Seoul Metropolitan Government had announced the card under the name "Climate Card Plus," but after a prolonged dispute with the commission, ultimately agreed to rename it "Climate Card Pass." The word "integration," which Seoul had used to describe the merger, was also dropped in favor of language describing Seoul as a "participant" in the Modu Card program. In the battle over who would lead the unlimited transit pass initiative, the ministry effectively came out on top.

Seoul and the commission jointly distributed a press release Thursday morning titled "Fruits of Seoul-MLTM Commission Cooperation … Modu Card (Climate Card Pass) to Launch Sept. 1." The two agencies coordinated the wording before releasing it simultaneously. The dispute — which began when Seoul announced the Climate Card Plus and the commission immediately issued a statement calling the announcement "untrue" — was patched up after roughly a month. The Sept. 1 card will carry all the benefits currently offered under the existing Climate Card.

The most significant change is the name itself: what Seoul had called the Climate Card Plus will go to market as the Modu Card (Climate Card Pass). While "Climate Card Plus" centered on Seoul's own brand, the new name shifts emphasis to the national Modu Card platform. A Seoul city official said the city's demand to retain the "Climate Card" name in the title was accepted.

The word "integration," which Seoul used in its original announcement, disappeared from Thursday's joint release. In its place, the document states: "The Modu Card (Climate Card Pass) is a service that adds region-specific benefits for Seoul residents — including an expanded youth category — to the Modu Card. The commission is currently running region-specific programs with seven local governments (Gyeonggi Province, Incheon, Busan, Sejong, Gwangju, South Gyeongsang Province and Ulsan), and Seoul becomes the eighth to join the Modu Card regional program."

Of the requests Seoul made to the commission, only two were granted: an extension of the youth age ceiling and a discount tie-in with the public bicycle service Ttareungi. Seoul had asked the commission to raise the upper age limit for the youth category from 34 to 39. Under the new card, Seoul residents aged 35 to 39 will qualify for youth-tier rebates. The discharge veteran discount age was also extended to 42.

The outcome stands in sharp contrast to the language Seoul used in a press release it distributed alone on June 17. At the time, Seoul said it was creating "a new transit card service, Climate Card Plus, that integrates the Climate Card — Seoul's flagship public transit subsidy policy — with the government's Modu Card (K-Pass)."

The dispute between the two agencies stemmed from a fight over ownership. Seoul views the government's Modu Card as having been modeled on its Climate Card, while the ministry regards the Climate Card as simply one of the Modu Card's regional programs.

Seoul announced plans for the Climate Card on Sept. 11, 2023, and launched it as a pilot on Jan. 27, 2024. The card's core appeal is unlimited subway and bus rides for 62,000 won ($43) a month. Within two years of its launch, more than 700,000 residents were using it, making it one of Mayor Oh Se-hoon's signature achievements.

The K-Pass was announced on Aug. 29, 2023, as a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport public transit rebate program and went into service on May 1, 2024. From Jan. 1 this year, it was upgraded into the Modu Card, which refunds the full amount spent above 62,000 won rather than offering only a partial rebate.

In its June 17 solo release, Seoul described the Climate Card as "the country's first unlimited public transit pass, launched in January 2024," and said of the Modu Card (K-Pass) that "combining two systems with similar purposes and functions into one is expected to reduce public confusion and minimize unnecessary administrative waste, enabling more efficient operation."

The commission pushed back immediately. After Seoul distributed its release, the commission issued a clarification stating it had "received a request from Seoul on June 5 to enroll the Climate Card in the Modu Card and is currently reviewing it," adding that it "plans to decide whether to admit the Climate Card to the Modu Card after comprehensively considering system restructuring, budget requirements and public convenience." It also said it "regrets that Seoul unilaterally distributed the material despite the many issues that still need to be verified."

Park Ji-hong, a standing commissioner at the commission, said at a briefing on June 25 that "it is desirable for Seoul to coordinate the terms within the governance of the Modu Card, which operates as a single national system."

Observers inside and outside Seoul city hall say the friction between Seoul and the central government — which has flared across several issues — spilled over into the Climate Card dispute. The ministry, which oversees the commission, issued a construction stop order in March — two months before completion — over procedural concerns related to Mayor Oh's flagship project, the Garden of Gratitude. The two agencies still disagree over the volume of housing to be supplied in the Yongsan International Business District, and their views on future real estate policy remain at odds.

The conflict between the Cultural Heritage Administration and Seoul is also ongoing. The administration has opposed Seoul's planned redevelopment of the Sewoon District 4 zone, citing requirements including a Heritage Impact Assessment for the nearby Jongmyo Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


cook@heraldcorp.com