Elderly Person Returning to Homeland After 20 Years Mistakes Kwonjong
Taxi Fare Was About 50,000 Won but Paid 550,000 Won
A taxi driver in Incheon caused controversy by mistaking a 50,000 won bill for a 5,000 won bill and letting a passenger who paid much more taxi fare simply get off and leave.
On the 11th, a post titled "Incheon Taxi Drivers, Please Take a Look" was uploaded on the online community 'Bobae Dream.' The author, Mr. A, began the post by saying, "An elderly person who came to their homeland after 20 years from Hawaii took a taxi from Incheon Airport to Juan Station around 7 p.m. on the 10th."
He continued, "The taxi fare was about 51,000 won, but this elderly person thought the 50,000 won bill was the old 5,000 won bill and gave the driver 11 bills of 50,000 won." This means the passenger paid more than 550,000 won, over ten times the fare.
The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. An employee is organizing 50,000 won bills at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
Mr. A, presumed to be a hotel employee, said, "I found out by chance. When I was asked how much the hotel’s one-night stay was, I said 35,000 won, and the person gave me seven 50,000 won bills," adding, "At first, I thought it was dementia, and when I told them that one 50,000 won bill would be enough, they explained the situation from 10 minutes earlier."
He added, "I really felt my face flush. Even if you don’t have money, don’t do shameful things," and said, "I’m not such a good person either, but I’m really embarrassed. If you happen to see this post, the elderly person will be in Korea until the end of this month, so please make sure to return the money." Mr. A also added a bitter remark, "You don’t become rich by getting 500,000 won for free."
Netizens who saw this post expressed outrage with comments such as, "The difference is too big to mistake it for a tip, so why did they do that?", "Would they feel comfortable receiving that?", "It’s bitter because it’s not easy to accept 11 bills of 50,000 won," "As a fellow taxi driver, I’m so angry," "Call the Incheon Airport Transportation Management Team and make sure they get punished," and "There are many CCTVs at Incheon Airport. Let’s find out who the taxi driver is."
Meanwhile, there was a past case where a taxi driver was caught after not returning three 50,000 won bills given by foreign tourists who mistook the fare.
In 2019, four people including Mr. B, a family tourist from Singapore, took a taxi in front of Shinsegae Department Store in Haeundae-gu, Busan, and arrived at BIFF Square in Nampo-dong. When the taxi fare came to 14,800 won, they handed over three 50,000 won bills, mistaking the 5,000 won bills for 50,000 won bills. The taxi driver, knowing the money given was 50,000 won bills, did not give change and kept all 150,000 won.
After getting off the taxi, Mr. B realized the damage after checking the receipt and reported it to the Nampo Center of the Tourist Police nearby. The police analyzed CCTV and black box footage installed at the taxi boarding and alighting points, identified the taxi driver, recovered all the unfair charges, and returned them to Mr. B’s family. The taxi driver claimed to the police, "I thought it was 5,000 won bills. I didn’t check the amount properly." However, the police notified the local government of the incident and imposed administrative sanctions including fines.
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