Chinese tourist ripped off nearly 10 times taxi fare in South Korea

Last month, the tourist took a taxi ride from Jeju International Airport to a hotel near Hamdeok Beach and reportedly paid the fare of 200,000 won (US$146) to the driver, Korea Times reported.

After getting off the taxi, the tourist knew that such fare was too expensive and sought help from local residents who told him to contact police for assistance, Korean-language site Seoul.co reported.

The tourist on May 3 came to the police's office and gave a note in Korean language, saying he overpaid the taxi fare of up to 200,000 won, asking them to help find the driver.

The actual fare should have been 23,000 won, according to the police.

Based on camera footage at the airport, police quickly tracked down the driver and ordered him to return 177,000 won to the tourist.

The driver claimed "he had mistaken a 10,000 won bill for a 1,000 won bill because it was dark at night."

Police then contacted the tourist who received the overpaid money.

Foreign tourists' largest complaint in South Korea was shopping rip-offs, followed by taxi scams and poor accommodation services, according to the 2023 Tourist Complaint Analysis released by the Korea Tourism Organization.