서울시 기후동행카드 ‘정부와 환급 경쟁’…시 재정 부담·카드도 낭비

Critics argued that Seoul's government has been burdened by the costs associated with the "Climate Walk Card" program, despite the government's similar policy of reimbursing subscribers around 30,000 won per month. The "Climate Walk Card" monthly pass is only available until January 31st, after which the "My Card" (Climate Walk Pass) system will be introduced from September 1st.

The plan to incorporate the city's system into the government's "My Card" scheme was mentioned in the 2026 Climate Walk Card operation plan (for 2025), stating that restructuring of public transportation subsidies is necessary due to the government's "My Card" introduction. The existing "K" pass system provides partial refunds on usage fees (6,200 won for general users), and the Climate Walk Card system extends this benefit to include subway, metropolitan subway, and special city bus usage.

Consequently, it is estimated that 70,000 out of 85,000 Climate Walk Card users will switch to the "My Card" system by 2025. Seoul City had budgeted around 1488 billion won for the program, expecting around 1488 billion won in revenue from 30 million monthly pass users. However, the city has not presented a restructuring plan since April 5th, when it announced a rebate of 30,000 won (up to 90,000 won) for Climate Walk Card users.

On the same day, the People Power Party proposed halving the refund amount for "My Card" to save on budget. The revised budget, including the 1068 billion won needed for the Climate Walk Card rebate, was approved by the National Assembly on April 10th. The city submitted the revised budget to the Seoul City Council on April 14th, which was processed on April 28th.

However, the Climate Walk Card budget is fully funded by the city, while "My Card" is shared equally between the government (40%) and the city (60%). If city residents had switched to "My Card" earlier, they could have benefited from similar support while reducing the city's financial burden. On June 16th, after the 6·3 local elections, the city announced its plan to terminate the Climate Walk Card program.

The Climate Walk Card monthly pass sales reached a record 21,4920 in April, and about 530,000 cards were sold by June. City officials in charge of transportation policy criticized the abrupt transition to the Climate Walk Card, stating that it would have caused more political instability if the two systems had been combined gradually.

Additionally, the city agreed to bear 50% of the subway service loss costs for 2025-2026, but has now agreed to cover 100% of the loss. This has added approximately 1100 billion won to the city's budget.