A transportation official inspects colorful graffiti left on a subway train parked at a depot in Busan, June 23. Courtesy of Busan Transportation Corp.
Seoul Metro, one of the two major operators of the city’s subway system, will install English-language warning signs around its depots after a string of illegal graffiti cases by foreign nationals in recent years.
The municipally run company said Monday that four graffiti incidents have been reported at its depots over the past five years, including cases at a depot at Gunja Station on lines 5 and 7 in 2024 and 2025.
Officials say intruders typically entered in the early morning hours and spray-painted parked trains before soon leaving Korea, causing damage to subway cars and forcing costly repair work.
Amid rising concerns, Seoul Metro CEO Kim Tae-gyun instructed staff at an April safety meeting to install new warnings along depot fences, saying clear notices were needed to deter trespassing by foreign nationals. He pointed out that the existing signs varied in size and spacing and had been put up at different times, leaving their wording inconsistent and often out of step with recent legal revisions.
