Pretending to Be a Foreigner at Incheon International Airport:
Several Experiments Reveal Actual Overcharging by Taxi Drivers
A YouTuber pretending to be a foreigner took a taxi at Incheon International Airport and was charged an exorbitant fare, followed by being forced to pay in cash, exposing the behavior of taxi drivers. On the 15th, YouTuber 'Charles Ille' (real name Hyun Cheol Seung) uploaded a video titled "Do taxi drivers really scam you if you pretend to be a foreigner at the airport?" The YouTuber said, "In the past, Korean taxi drivers were known to overcharge foreigners a lot, so I was curious about the current situation," and set a fictional nationality before boarding a taxi at Incheon International Airport.
A YouTuber who pretended to be a foreigner and took a taxi at Incheon International Airport exposed the behavior of taxi drivers, claiming they not only charged an excessive fare but also forced cash payment. On the 15th, YouTuber 'Charles Alle' (real name Hyun Cheol-seung) uploaded a video titled "Do they really scam you if you take a taxi pretending to be a foreigner at the airport?" YouTube channel 'Charles Alle'
He asked the driver to take him to a hotel in Jung-gu, Incheon, and inquired about the fare. The driver hesitated briefly and said, "20,000 won." Before departure, the YouTuber had checked the fare via a taxi app, which was about 12,300 won. The YouTuber requested the driver to use the meter to calculate the fare. The driver refused, saying, "The meter doesn't work." Then, according to the YouTuber's side, the driver pressed the 'cash payment' option on the meter and turned it off. When the YouTuber asked for a discount by saying "Discount," the driver replied, "No. I have to go back to the airport from here."
Upon arrival at the destination, the YouTuber asked in English, "If not cash, is card okay? Is card not accepted?" The driver, not fully understanding English, said only cash was accepted. The YouTuber then handed over 20,000 won in cash, which the driver accepted. Afterwards, the YouTuber said, "The driver did not take a longer route, so maybe it was because of the overcharge," and added, "As soon as he realized I was a foreigner, he turned off the meter. It felt bitter to be tricked knowingly." He expressed frustration, saying, "Foreigners wouldn't know and would just go along with it," and "Why only cash? The taxi ride was only 10 minutes, but 20,000 won is too expensive."
Finally, he explained, "The standard taxi fare measured by Kakao Taxi from Incheon Airport to the hotel was 17,800 won, and the Starpia van taxi fare was 15,000 won, but the regular taxi charged 20,000 won. I was overcharged by about 8,000 won." He also expressed disappointment, saying, "One driver cannot represent all drivers," but added, "It must be a problem with that particular driver."
The YouTuber then continued the experiment by taking a taxi from Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport to Gimpo Airport. He said, "When I checked the taxi app, it seemed to be about 40,000 won. I'll assume up to 45,000 won and trust it. If an unreasonable amount comes up, I'll try speaking in Korean." This time, the taxi driver responded to the fare inquiry by saying, "I will turn on the meter." The YouTuber said, "The second driver was completely honest. Including the toll fee of 3,000 won, the price matched what was shown on the Kakao Taxi app," emphasizing, "There are more good drivers among them." Lastly, the YouTuber took a taxi from Gimpo Airport to Magoknaru Station on the Seoul subway. According to the Kakao Taxi app, the fare was about 12,000 won. The third taxi driver also turned on the meter. The YouTuber said, "This time, the fare was less than the app showed. It came to 7,900 won. I met an honest driver," expressing pride by saying, "This is Korea."
Taxi drivers who charge 'exorbitant fares' may have their licenses revoked
It is not a new issue that taxi drivers demand exorbitant fares from foreigners. Among these cases, last September, a court ruled that revoking the taxi driving license of a driver who habitually overcharged foreign customers was appropriate. According to the legal community, private taxi driver A filed a lawsuit seeking to cancel the Seoul mayor's decision to revoke his taxi driving license but lost the case. Earlier, in February 2023, A dropped off foreign male and female passengers at Incheon International Airport. The meter fare at that time was 55,700 won.
However, A entered an additional 16,600 won into the meter and received 72,000 won in cash from the passengers, resulting in being caught for unfair fare collection. The problem was that A had already been caught twice for overcharging foreigners. In April and August 2022, he was caught inflating toll fees or applying surcharges violating regulations. The surcharge outside the service area is a system that adds 20% to the normal fare if the passenger's destination is outside the business zone. For the first offense, A received a warning; for the second, a 30-day license suspension. Seoul City revoked A's taxi driving license upon the third offense. A immediately appealed, claiming a violation of the principle of proportionality. However, the court did not accept A's claim, judging that entering tip amounts into the meter was unnatural.
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