Over 6,000 Reports of Exorbitant Taxi Fares, but Only 3% Face Penalties

From Seoul to Incheon International Airport for 690,000 won?

Such cases of overcharging targeting foreigners are not hard to find.

In fact, reports of unfair taxi fares in Seoul alone have exceeded 6,000 over the past five years.

Yet, only 3% of those actually resulted in administrative penalties.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 6,481 reports of unfair taxi fares filed by foreign tourists were received from 2021 through August of this year.

Among these, a mere 3.1% led to administrative disciplinary actions.

Cases closed internally by the city without any separate penalties reached 67.4%.

The stated reason for closing these cases was classified as "others."

By far, "others" accounted for the overwhelming majority.

The city explained that cases where it was difficult to verify violations during the investigation process or those closed internally based on individual circumstances were categorized as "others."

Meanwhile, foreign tourists continue to suffer damages.

Back in June, a post circulated on social media revealing that a Taiwanese tourist was charged over 690,000 won for taking an Uber taxi from Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, to Incheon International Airport.

Critics point out that the reward system designed to encourage reporting of such damages also lacks practical effectiveness.

Charging 690,000 won truly feels like going much too far.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.