Starting July 1, Busan City will introduce the Mobile Dongbaek Pass, allowing citizens to receive the same transportation refund benefits as the existing Dongbaek Pass but without needing a physical card.
The new service enables users to register their Dongbaekjeon postpaid transportation card directly through the Samsung Wallet app, offering greater convenience for public transportation users. The system automatically applies the refund benefit based on the card with the higher monthly usage—physical or mobile.
The Dongbaek Pass, first introduced in August 2023, provides up to 45,000 KRW in monthly transit refunds through Dongbaekjeon for those who exceed a monthly transportation cost of 45,000 KRW.
As part of broader efforts to promote transit use, Busan also plans to link the new Mobile Dongbaek Pass with upcoming bus route reorganizations in July. The city expects the mobile service to boost participation and improve accessibility.
Subscriber numbers have risen steadily, reaching 700,000 by May 2025. According to a 2024 survey, over 93% of users reported satisfaction with the program, which is also credited with raising the city’s public transportation usage rate by 2.4 percentage points over two years.
