I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
City to help foreign gouging victims
Park Won-soon
By Kang Hyun-kyung
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon is seeking ways to have the city address complaints from foreign tourists who say they were ripped off when visiting the capital.
Legal preparations are in motion to establish a framework for Park’s plan, said city officials.
Park Jin-young, director of the tourism division, said the city was seriously considering compensating tourists, who have been overcharged by cabbies or ripped off while purchasing goods.
“Mayor Park has developed a keen interest in ending the illegal practice of overcharging foreign tourists since last year when he visited Namdaemun Market,” said the official.
Still, he said the initiative remains in its early stages and needs further discussions and consultations from experts and members of the city council.
“We have yet to work closely together with the council to pass the ordinance calling for refunding tourists,” he said, adding that the prospects of it fully supporting the measure are uncertain.
The official said that nothing has been decided regarding eligibility, how much will be paid back and what criterion should be used when refunding victims.
The idea of refunding overcharged foreign tourists arose after some complained about service overcharges by some taxi drivers or vendors while they travelled around Seoul.
Last week, police booked 20 unregistered “call van” drivers on allegations of overcharging foreign tourists. According to police, since July last year, the drivers solicited foreigners in downtown Seoul at night and ripped them off after driving them to their destinations.
A driver charged three tourists from Singapore 260,000 won after taking them to Incheon International Airport from Seobu Station in Seoul, approximately 10 times more than the normal fare, according to the police.