Korail Subsidiary Employees Caught Stealing Passenger Cash and Drinking During Night Shifts

Employees at subsidiaries of the Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail) have been caught stealing cash from passengers' wallets left behind on trains and drinking alcohol dozens of times while on night duty.

According to an analysis of disciplinary records from five Korail subsidiaries released today (September 23) by lawmaker Bok Ki-wang of the Democratic Party of Korea (Asan, South Chungcheong Province) from the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, a total of 224 disciplinary actions were taken between January 2024 and June of this year.

Severe disciplinary actions, including 82 suspensions, 33 dismissals, and 2 expulsions, accounted for more than half (117 cases, or 52.2%) of the total.

Korail Tech, which is responsible for maintenance and cleaning operations such as passenger car cleaning, accounted for an overwhelming majority with 174 cases (77.7%).

Severe disciplinary actions also reached 102 cases (58.6%), which included 32 dismissals and 1 expulsion.

Lawmaker Bok's office explained that Korail Tech employees repeatedly tampered with lost and found items left behind by passengers.

One employee was handed over to investigative authorities after pocketing 1 million won in cash from a designer wallet worth 600,000 won, while other employees extracted 150,000 won and 218,000 won in cash respectively from found wallets before reporting the rest as lost items.

An employee who used a found credit card to purchase 119,500 won worth of goods even faced charges of fraud and unauthorized use of a credit card.

Some employees drank alcohol more than 33 times during their night shifts.

At Korail Distribution (16 cases), two employees in charge of train operation duties were suspended after exceeding the legal limit during alcohol breath tests conducted before starting work.

An employee who left the workplace without permission and was absent without leave was expelled, and an employee who caused discomfort through unnecessary physical contact was dismissed.

At Korail Networks (18 cases), an employee in charge of ticketing duties was caught improperly using cancelled tickets and received a three-month suspension. At Korail Tourism Development (11 cases), three employees whose train boarding eligibility was revoked after failing fitness-for-duty inspections prior to boarding were disciplined.

At Korail Logistics (5 cases), an employee received a two-month suspension after falsely reporting safety activity results, being absent without leave, and unfairly receiving wages.

Lawmaker Bok stated, "Employees responsible for railway safety drinking on duty is a direct betrayal of public trust. Since public safety and management responsibilities cannot be outsourced simply because they are subsidiaries, Korail must directly conduct special audits, prepare preventive measures, and hold habitually corrupt workplaces and management supervisors strictly accountable."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.