"If You Don't Have Money for the Taxi Fare, Pay With Your Body"... Korean Taxi Driver Sexually Harasses Thai Tourist

Controversy Over Korean Taxi Driver's Sexual Harassment of Thai Tourist
Taxi Driver Tells Tourist: "If You Don't Have Money, Pay With Your Body"
Incident Sparks Outrage in Both Korea and Thailand

A Korean taxi driver is facing controversy after it was revealed that he made sexually harassing remarks to a Thai tourist, including telling her, "If you don't have money, pay with your body."

A recent incident involving a Thai tourist making sexually harassing remarks to a Korean taxi driver has sparked controversy. TikTok capture

On June 19, a Thai influencer in her 30s posted a video on her TikTok account, sharing the unpleasant experience her friend, identified as A, had while taking a taxi in Korea.

According to the video, A, who visited Korea last week, used an application to set her destination as Seoul Station in order to take the KTX to Busan. She then called a taxi through the app. After getting into the taxi, the driver used a voice translation app on his phone to communicate with her. The taxi driver spoke informally, asking questions such as, "Do you have a boyfriend?", "Why aren't you married yet?", and "I can help you find a job. It's not hard. You just need to clean rooms."

When A said she was going to Busan for a trip, the taxi driver responded, "Shall we go to Busan in this taxi?" and added, "If you don't have enough money for the taxi fare to Busan, you can pay with your body." He even laughed when his words were translated into Thai and played back as audio.

In the video, A's friend commented, "Korea is a safe country and there are many good people, but don't assume it's 100% safe." She added, "The scariest moment for my friend was when the taxi driver stopped the car and kept talking to her. Before arriving at the destination, the driver also gave his phone number and asked when she would return to Korea."

As the video spread, Thai viewers expressed outrage, saying, "This is so scary," "Are they looking down on us?" and "The taxi driver should be reported." Korean netizens also reacted, saying, "This is a national disgrace," "As a Korean, I apologize," "This should be reported to the police," and "Incidents like this cause trouble for other taxi drivers."

Meanwhile, the video has reached 300,000 views and received 14,000 likes.