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Reuters
Reuters
Business
By Hyonhee Shin and Hyeyeon Kim

In South Korea, free subway rides for the elderly become a political headache

Park Gyung-sun, 71, passes a ticket barrier as he delivers a parcel in Seoul, South Korea, February 8, 2023. REUTERS/Soo-Hyeon Kim

Every day, 71-year-old Park Gyung-sun delivers flowers, documents and other packages around Seoul - a job popular among senior citizens who are entitled to ride the city's subways for free.

The work, dubbed "silver delivery" in South Korea, earns Park, a former market stall owner, up to 700,000 won ($550) a month. The company he works for is just one of two dozen in the capital.

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