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Seoul Launches 100-Day Crackdown on Taxi Drivers Overcharging Tourists

Seoul officials have begun penalizing taxi drivers for overcharging, demanding tips or refusing short rides at airports alongside tourist areas through a multi-language QR-code reporting system.

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Overview

  • The enforcement period started August 6 and will run through mid-November, targeting unfair practices that have long frustrated foreign visitors.
  • Civil servants deployed at Incheon and Gimpo airports as well as Myeong-dong and other tourist hotspots can issue on-the-spot fines for overcharging, tip solicitations and short-ride refusals.
  • Visitors receive card-sized survey slips at major entry points that link to QR-code forms in English, Chinese and Japanese for reporting violations.
  • The campaign builds on data showing 139 overcharging cases and 109 ride refusals recorded by the end of June under ongoing crackdowns since 2015.
  • Clear fare disclosures of 4,800 won for the first 1.6 kilometers and 5,800–6,700 won at night provide benchmarks for enforcing standard rates.