Korea's railway museum runs 3-year deficit; lawmaker urges efficiency
In short
The railway museum in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, run by state rail operator KORAIL, posted a deficit for a third straight year from 2023 to 2025, with cumulative losses of about 940 million won, according to data disclosed by Democratic Party lawmaker Yeom Tae-yeong. Revenue fell each year and visitor numbers turned down last year. The museum says it should not be judged on profitability alone because it is a public-interest facility, but Yeom called for better exhibits and more efficient spending.
Read the full story 1 min read
The railway museum in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, operated by the state rail company KORAIL, ran a deficit for a third consecutive year in 2025, with cumulative losses of about 940 million won over 2023-2025, according to data KORAIL submitted and Democratic Party lawmaker Yeom Tae-yeong disclosed on Oct. 4. Yeom sits on the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee. [ 1 , 2 ]
Revenue fell each year over the period, from 220.83 million won in 2023 to 211.81 million won in 2024 and 164.39 million won in 2025. Visitor numbers rose slightly from about 154,000 in 2023 to about 156,000 in 2024, then declined to about 150,800 last year, the same data showed. [ 1 , 2 ]
Yeom said the museum's position is that, as a public-interest facility that promotes railway history and culture, its performance cannot be judged on profitability alone. Yeom nonetheless said the deficit has continued and visitor numbers are falling while KORAIL budget money is being spent, and called for a review of exhibition and experience content and of measures to attract visitors, along with more efficient spending. “As KORAIL's budget is being invested while deficits continue and visitors decline, we must review exhibition and experience content and visitor attraction measures and raise the efficiency of cost spending,” Yeom said. [ 1 , 2 ]
Neither report includes a direct statement from KORAIL or the museum beyond the position relayed by the lawmaker, and neither gives figures beyond 2025 or any plan to address the shortfall. [ 1 , 2 ]
Why it matters
The museum is funded from KORAIL's budget, so the figures bring a state-run operator's non-core facilities under parliamentary scrutiny over how public money is spent. The documents give no indication of a KORAIL restructuring plan or of any change to the museum's operations, and the dispute so far is a lawmaker's criticism rather than a decision.
Key facts
- KORAIL's railway museum in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, recorded deficits for three consecutive years from 2023 through 2025, with cumulative losses of about 940 million won, according to data disclosed by lawmaker Yeom Tae-yeong. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Museum revenue fell from 220.83 million won in 2023 to 211.81 million won in 2024 and 164.39 million won in 2025. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Visitor numbers were about 154,000 in 2023, about 156,000 in 2024 and about 150,800 in 2025, turning down in the third year. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The museum's position, relayed by Yeom, is that as a public-interest facility promoting railway history and culture it cannot be assessed on profitability alone. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Yeom, a Democratic Party lawmaker on the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, said exhibition and experience content, visitor attraction plans and the efficiency of cost spending should be reviewed. [ 1 , 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The railway museum posted a deficit for three straight years from 2023 to 2025, totalling about 940 million won. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Annual revenue declined each year over the same period, from 220.83 million won to 164.39 million won. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Visitor numbers fell back to about 150,800 last year after a small rise the year before. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The museum's stated position, as relayed by the lawmaker, is that profitability alone cannot measure its performance as a public-interest facility. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Yeom called for reviewing exhibition and experience content and visitor attraction measures and for raising the efficiency of cost spending. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- Whether KORAIL or the museum has responded directly to the lawmaker's criticism. Both documents say the museum's position was conveyed by the lawmaker, not in a direct statement from KORAIL, and neither cites a separate company response.
- What measures, if any, KORAIL plans to take, and what the museum's finances look like for 2026. Neither document reports a plan or any figure beyond the 2023-2025 period.