SEOUL, South Korea — Passengers on Seoul's subway system have left behind nearly 3 billion won, or about $2.2 million, in cash since 2021, and the share of lost items returned to their owners has fallen below 50% for the first time, according to data released Friday.

The figures, submitted by Seoul Metro to Hwang Hee, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party who sits on the National Assembly's land, infrastructure and transport committee, show a sharp rise in the number of items left on trains and in stations over the past six years.

From 2021 through September of this year, Seoul's subway system received a total of 820,106 lost items.

Lost items rising sharply

The number of lost items has climbed steadily. Seoul Metro recorded 101,618 lost items in 2021. By last year, that number had risen to 167,738, an increase of about 65%.

In the first nine months of this year alone, 123,879 items were reported lost, putting 2026 on pace to match or exceed last year's total.

The increase comes as ridership on the Seoul subway, one of the world's busiest metro........

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