After Driving 300km for 7 Hours, a 'Meoktwi'... Even a 30-Year Veteran Was Fooled Right Before Their Eyes

Chuncheon→Wonju→Seongnam Changing Destinations Repeatedly
Confessing Personal Matters While Embezzling Fare
"30 Years of Taxi Experience, First Time Encountering Such Fraud"

A taxi driver’s story has been shared about a passenger who made him drive around for a staggering 7 hours, then fled without paying. On the 8th, JTBC’s Incident Commander reported, “We received a tip that a taxi driver was a victim of a 'meoktwi' (eating and running) and fraud by a passenger.” According to the report, Mr. A, a taxi driver with 30 years of experience, picked up a man in his 50s, Mr. B, near Namchuncheon Station in Gangwon on the 3rd.

At the time, Mr. B, who was using crutches, asked to be taken to a food alley near Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, about 10 minutes from the pickup location. After arriving at the destination, Mr. B got out but soon got back in, saying, “I urgently need to buy something,” and offered “200,000 won for a round trip between Chuncheon and Wonju.” After driving for about an hour, they arrived in Wonju, where Mr. B said, “The item isn’t available in Wonju,” and then asked to be taken to Seongnam in Gyeonggi Province.

Although the distance from Wonju to Seongnam is about 170 km, Mr. A agreed to the request. According to Mr. A, Mr. B shared his personal phone number in the taxi and talked about private matters such as his address, the death of his wife, and his child serving in the military. He even showed a bundle of cash worth about 2 million won in his bag and asked Mr. A to count the money, so Mr. A did not suspect any meoktwi.

However, upon arriving in Seongnam, Mr. B suddenly asked Mr. A to lend him 750,000 won, saying he was short on cash to buy the item. When Mr. A refused, Mr. B asked to borrow 250,000 won, including the 200,000 won taxi fare he had already given. Reluctantly, Mr. A added 50,000 won of his own money and handed over a total of 250,000 won to Mr. B. Mr. B said he would repay 500,000 won, including the taxi fare back to Chuncheon, and entered a building in Seongnam. However, after entering the building, Mr. B did not return. Mr. A called him, but there was no answer. When he entered the building, it appeared Mr. B had exited through the back door.

The victim taxi driver said to JTBC, “I drove for 7 hours and about 300 km in one day, only to be scammed. The feeling of emptiness, betrayal, and loss made the trip back to Chuncheon very difficult. In my 30 years as a taxi driver, I have experienced many meoktwi cases, but this is the first time something like this has happened. I sincerely provided all conveniences for a passenger with physical difficulties, so I feel very disappointed and upset.” Currently, Mr. A has reported the incident to the police based on the taxi’s internal CCTV footage and is waiting for the case to be assigned.