Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Court upholds taxi license revocation for overcharging foreigners
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By Jung Min-ho
A Seoul court ruled in favor of city authorities who invalidated a taxi driver's license for repeatedly overcharging foreign customers.
According to officials on Sunday, the Seoul Administrative Court recently upheld the Seoul Metropolitan Government's decision to revoke the taxi license of an individual who was caught overcharging foreign passengers for the third time in February 2023.
In his most recent offense, the driver charged two Thai customers 72,000 won ($54) for a trip from the city metropolitan area to Incheon International Airport — 9,700 won more than the correct fare, which included a highway fee of 6,600 won.
The driver claimed the additional money was a tip from the customers, which the court dismissed.
"If they were offering a tip of about 10,000 won, it would have been more natural for him to put 62,300 won in a taximeter before receiving 72,000 won in cash," Judge Seo Kyung-min said.
The judge noted that his attempt to overcharge the customers using a taximeter was consistent with previous incidents, where he had manipulated the meter to inflate fares for foreign customers on at least two occasions the previous year.