Seoul Metro eyes small businesses for station co-naming program

Seoul Metro is pushing to expand its station co-naming program to include small and medium-sized enterprises, broadening eligibility beyond mid-sized companies.

Seoul Metro is revising its "Detailed Operating Guidelines for the Paid Sale of Station Co-Names" to reflect the change. The current guidelines list eligible entities for station co-naming as public institutions, schools, medical facilities, multi-use facilities and businesses — but restrict corporate applicants to mid-sized companies or larger, as defined under Article 2 of the Special Act on Promoting Growth and Strengthening Competitiveness of Mid-Sized Enterprises. The core of the revision is adding small and medium-sized enterprises as defined under Article 2 of the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are generally defined as companies with total assets of 500 billion won ($322 million) or less, though the criteria vary by industry. Manufacturers qualify if their three-year average annual revenue is 180 billion won or less, while accommodation and restaurant businesses must fall below 40 billion won. Franchise operators that hold individual business registrations and conduct their own commercial activities may also qualify, as can micro-businesses. Mid-sized companies, by contrast, are those that do not qualify as small and medium-sized enterprises but are not part of a large conglomerate subject to cross-shareholding restrictions. In a business plan submitted to the Seoul Metropolitan Council, Seoul Metro said the expansion aims to "generate new demand, raise competition and the highest bid price, and strengthen corporate promotional opportunities." An official at Seoul Metro said the agency is "currently in discussions with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on revising the guidelines."

Of Seoul Metro's 276 stations, 107 carry co-names, 40 of which are paid arrangements. The program has grown steadily since its launch in 2023, when 14 stations were added, followed by four in 2024 and 22 in 2025. The agency currently runs two bidding rounds per year — one each in the first and second halves — but is considering opening additional on-demand rounds whenever sufficient interest exists.

The co-naming program is one of several ancillary revenue streams Seoul Metro has pursued to offset its deficit. The total contract value across the 40 active co-named stations stands at 14.4 billion won. Because contracts go to the highest bidder, busy stations such as Gangnam and Seongsu have drawn bids of around 1 billion won. In August 2024, a dental clinic called Haru Plant Dental Clinic won a contract with a bid of 1.11 billion won. CJ Olive Young secured the Seongsu Station co-name with a 1 billion won bid. "Expanding the co-naming program to small and medium-sized enterprises is part of our self-help measures to address the deficit," a Seoul Metro official said. The agency posted a deficit of 826.8 billion won last year, losing 781 won per passenger carried. Free rides for senior citizens — costing 448.8 billion won — and bus transfer discounts at 290.7 billion won are among the primary drivers of the shortfall.

However, the expansion risks reviving public-interest controversies, as illustrated by CJ Olive Young's decision to return its Seongsu Station co-naming rights. The company had won the contract in August 2024 with the highest bid while planning to open a large flagship store near the station, but later gave up the rights. In 2023, controversy erupted when Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital — with nearly 1,000 beds — lost a bid for Balsan Station to a small orthopedic clinic located about 300 meters away. At the time, Seoul Metro had no concrete public-interest criteria beyond a general requirement that applicants not harm public order, good morals or the agency's image. The agency subsequently revised its internal rules in 2024 to score applicants on accessibility and public-interest considerations, granting bidding eligibility only to those meeting a minimum threshold.