Foreign tourists filed more than 6,000 complaints about unfair taxi fares in Seoul over the past five years, but only three in every 100 resulted in administrative penalties.
Data submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to Rep. Mo Kyung-jong of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, showed 6,481 such complaints were received from 2021 through August of this year, the lawmaker said on the 18th. Administrative penalties were imposed in 204 cases, or 3.1% of the total.
Warnings accounted for most of the penalties at 176 cases, followed by 26 suspensions of driving qualifications and two revocations. Another 1,865 complaints were closed with cautions or guidance training rather than formal penalties.
The city closed 4,368 complaints, or 67.4% of the total, without any action. The most common reason by far was "other," at 3,253 cases, or 74%, followed by withdrawn complaints at 762, mistaken reports at 271 and failure to meet requirements at 82.
Seoul officials said cases were classified as "other" when violations could not be confirmed during fact-finding or when they were closed internally based on individual circumstances. The share of complaints closed under that category has been rising, from 38.8% in 2023 to 56.2% last year and 60.7% as of August this year.
Meanwhile, tourists continue to be overcharged. In June, a Taiwanese tourist identified as A said on social media that a ride from Jayang-dong in Seoul's Gwangjin district to Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport cost 690,800 won, including 66,000 won in tolls.
The tourist initially set Seoul Station as the destination before changing it to the airport during the ride, with the additional fare to be charged automatically to the card registered in the app. Upon arrival at the airport, however, the driver demanded a separate payment through the card terminal in the vehicle, and the tourist, pressed for time before a flight, had no choice but to pay. A regular taxi fare for the same route runs about 70,000 won including tolls, making the charge roughly 10 times the standard rate. "For that amount, you could have gone from South Korea to North Korea," the tourist wrote.
A reward program created to encourage such complaints has been effectively dormant. Seoul revised its ordinance in 2013 to allow payments of 500,000 won to anyone whose complaint about an unfair taxi fare charged to a foreign tourist leads to an administrative penalty. Tourists who were overcharged can claim the reward themselves.
Yet despite the 204 complaints that resulted in penalties since 2021, not a single reward has been applied for or paid. Under the current ordinance, anonymous complaints are excluded, requiring the complainant's name, address and phone number. Rewards are paid quarterly to the complainant or a family member's account after the appeal period for the penalty expires and a review is completed. Neither the ordinance nor its enforcement rules specify how short-term foreign visitors can apply for and receive the money after leaving the country.
Public information has also fallen short. Seoul announced a crackdown on illegal taxi practices targeting foreign passengers in August last year and a measure requiring English on taxi receipts in January this year, promoting a multilingual QR complaint system in both. The city put complaint guidance stickers on 71,000 taxis in Seoul and publicized the process through foreign-language websites and social media. Neither measure mentioned the reward program.
"When foreign tourists report being gouged by taxis, only three out of 100 cases reach a penalty," Mo said. "The reward was created with good intentions, but it has never been used once because foreigners are not told about it and the procedures remain too difficult for departing tourists to navigate."
"Now that the government has raised the standards for penalties, what remains is making sure complaints backed by clear evidence actually lead to action," the lawmaker added. "We need procedures that protect both complainants and drivers, so that the majority of taxi drivers who work honestly are not cast under suspicion."