Seoul taxis under fire after Japanese TV reveals driver overcharging foreign tourists

SEOUL – Seoul taxi drivers face renewed criticism for overcharging foreign tourists after a Japanese news channel released a video of a local driver demanding an inflated fare from Japanese reporters who posed as tourists in the city, according to news reports on Sept 7.

In the video uploaded to the YouTube channel of Japanese broadcaster TBS’ digital news platform News Dig, two reporters and a videographer presented themselves as tourists taking a taxi from the Myeong-dong shopping district in central Seoul to Hongdae, a nightlife hot spot in north-western Seoul.

The South Korean driver reportedly set the fare at 45,000 won (S$42), citing heavy traffic, and switched off the meter before starting the ride.

In Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi province and Incheon, the base fare for a standard taxi is 4,800 won for the first 1.6km. An additional 100 won is charged for every 132m.

The ride from Myeong-dong to Hongdae is about 10km and should cost about 12,000 won, which means the driver asked for nearly four times the typical fare.

At the destination in Hongdae, the driver claimed the fare was 45,000 won and offered to lower it to 40,000 won if paid in cash.

The reporters paid by card and asked for a receipt, but the driver declined.

The driver then asked to exchange contact information, suggesting he could introduce the reporters to nightlife venues, saying: “I can take you to a well-known casino here for 10,000 yen (S$87) per person.”

After the news team told the driver that they were in the middle of reporting and pointed out the excessive fare, the driver attempted to explain that he had waited an hour for a previous fare in Myeong-dong, but the reservation was cancelled, causing him to lose time and money.

The video drew sharp criticism from South Korean online users, with some commenting: “Please revoke his taxi licence,” and, “This hurts South Korea’s global standing.”

The taxi driver was later nabbed in a crackdown by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and fined.

Since Aug 6, the city has been carrying out a

100-day special crackdown

on cab drivers’ unfair treatment of overseas tourists. The crackdown is being conducted at airports and key tourist destinations throughout Seoul.

It was not disclosed how much the driver was fined.

Under Seoul Metropolitan Government regulations, a first violation carries a fine of 200,000 won, a second violation results in a 400,000 won fine and a 30-day suspension and a third violation leads to a 600,000 won fine and licence cancellation.

Meanwhile, during regular inspections up to June, the authorities found 139 cases of taxi drivers overcharging foreign travellers at airports near the capital and 109 cases of drivers refusing short rides to foreigners. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK