Incident occurred Thursday at Mia Sageori Station on Line 4;
a station worker had to intervene before the train could depart
A passenger who missed a late-night subway train deliberately blocked the closing screen door, delaying the train for several minutes.
A video of the confrontation at Mia Sageori Station on Seoul Metro Line 4, which took place Thursday, has been circulating on social media and drawing widespread anger from online users.
According to the person who filmed the incident from inside the train, it occurred near midnight on an upbound service.
The footage shows a man who had failed to board standing at the edge of the yellow safety line and repeatedly pushing back the screen door with his hands each time it tried to close. The train remained at the platform for an extended period, unable to depart.
Unable to get the doors to close and the train moving, the operator shouted at the man, using an expletive: "Get your hands off, you idiot."
A station worker ultimately had to come out and physically restrain the man before the train could leave.
The person who filmed the incident said the delay lasted about three to four minutes and that the man never managed to board the train.
"I don't know what happened to him afterward, but I really hope he faces some kind of punishment," the witness added.
Online commenters reacted with frustration. "He wasted everyone else's time just for himself," one wrote. Others noted that passengers making connections on the last service of the night may have missed them, while several praised the operator for refusing to let the man board.
This is not the first time a forceful boarding attempt on the Seoul subway has caused a scene.
A video that recently went viral showed a pizza box in a plastic bag wedged between the doors of a Line 2 train as it pulled away from the station. According to the person who shared the footage, a man had shoved the pizza through the gap in an attempt to hold the doors open, but the operator departed without reopening them.
In May, at Seolleung Station on Line 2, a middle-aged passenger tried to force entry by jamming an umbrella between the doors. The operator responded by briefly cracking the doors open just enough to dislodge the umbrella, then quickly closing them again and departing.
According to Seoul Metro, more than 30 percent of all subway accidents over the past five years have involved doors, and forcing entry can lead not only to train delays but also to personal injury.
Meanwhile, the Railway Safety Act prohibits obstructing the opening or closing of train doors without justifiable cause in a way that disrupts service. Anyone found to have actually disrupted train operations can be fined 1.5 million won ($1,110) for a first offense.
jshan@heraldcorp.com
