"I Paid 180,000 Won More for the Taxi Fare"…Chinese Tourist Appeals to Police with a 'Note'

Chinese Tourist Pays 200,000 Won Taxi Fare
Visits Jeju Autonomous Police Unit to Plead with Note
Taxi Driver Says "I Thought It Was 1,000 Won"

A Chinese tourist who accidentally paid 200,000 won for a taxi fare reportedly visited the police and got the amount refunded.

Tourists submitting complaints at the Jeju Autonomous Police Agency Airport Office.
[Photo by Jeju Autonomous Police Agency]

On the 2nd, the Jeju Provincial Police Agency announced that they had resolved this incident that occurred on the 14th of last month. Around 10 a.m. that day, a Chinese national, Mr. A, visited the Jeju Provincial Police Agency Airport Office and handed a note written in Korean to the officers. The note read, "I paid 20,000 won for the taxi fare but was charged 200,000 won by mistake. Please help me recover it. Thank you."

Mr. A had boarded a taxi from Jeju International Airport taxi stand to Hamdeok around 11:30 p.m. on the previous day, the 13th of last month, and mistakenly paid ten times the actual fare. After receiving the complaint, the provincial police agency used a Chinese-speaking officer to interpret and investigate the overall circumstances, including the taxi boarding time and location. They then contacted the taxi driver who had taken Mr. A, and the driver returned to the airport. The police refunded the overpaid amount of 177,000 won to Mr. A.

A letter from tourist A who requested help from the Jeju Autonomous Police Agency.
[Photo by Jeju Autonomous Police Agency]

The taxi driver reportedly said, "It was dark at night, so I mistook the 10,000 won bill for a 1,000 won bill." Kang Hyung-sook, team leader of the Airport Office at the Provincial Police Agency, said, "We will do our best to ensure that foreign tourists leave Jeju with good memories," adding, "The safety and happiness of residents and tourists will be our top priority."

Meanwhile, the Jeju Provincial Police Agency is making efforts to resolve complaints from foreign tourists visiting Jeju. The Airport Office has assigned officers with overseas study experience or proficiency in foreign languages to the field, and by May, they had resolved 106 complaints from foreign tourists. In February, they also helped a tourist, Mr. B, who left his mobile phone in a taxi that arrived at Jeju Airport just before his departure time, by tracking down and returning the phone.