Despite "Insufficient Balance" Notices, They Board Anyway... Reports of Foreign Fare Evasion Mounting

Witness Accounts of Passengers Boarding with Insufficient Balances in Seoul, Busan and Jeju
"They Expect Bus Drivers to Turn a Blind Eye or Other Passengers to Pay for Them"
Proposal: "Display 'Insufficient Balance' in English"

Reports have been mounting from people who say they have recently seen foreign passengers board public transportation without paying, despite having insufficient balances on their transit cards.

From Seoul and Busan to Jeju... Reports of Fare Evasion Across the Country

An airport bus, pictured to help illustrate the story. Photo by Kang Jinhyung.

On October 22, a post spread on social media saying that four foreign women boarded a city bus in Seoul on October 19 without paying. According to the post's author, the card reader announced, "Insufficient balance" each time the women tapped their transit cards one after another, but they sat down without making any other payment, and the bus driver did not stop them. The author said they confronted the women directly when they got off, adding, "I told them they shouldn't ride the bus without paying, and they seemed flustered, saying, 'We know.'"

Another post uploaded to social media on October 9 recounted a witness account of a member of a foreign family boarding a city bus in Busan despite an insufficient-balance notice. The author suggested selling transit cards specifically for foreign visitors at airports and having the card readers display notices in English, Chinese, and Japanese, writing, "'Insufficient balance.' I think we could get this to appear in English."

Last month, a post said that an insufficient-balance notice was repeated over several stops on Bus 101, which runs from Jeju International Airport toward Seongsan Ilchulbong, and that three foreign passengers rode without paying. Other reports followed, including one saying a driver let a passenger with an insufficient balance board a limousine bus from Seomyeon in Busan to Gimhae Airport, and another claiming that a group took turns tapping around five transit cards on a bus near Osong Station in North Chungcheong Province.

On September 8, a post also appeared on social media saying that a foreign woman was unable to pay the 17,000-won fare on an airport bus bound for Incheon International Airport, delaying its departure. The woman reportedly had only 10,000 won in cash and an insufficient transit card balance, so the driver tried splitting the payment between cards. Another passenger who boarded later reportedly lent her the money.

Various other witness accounts have also emerged. One social media user claimed to have seen three foreign passengers use several transit cards in turn over the course of a week and board anyway when the payments did not go through. Some have also claimed that posts on overseas social media share ways to rely on bus drivers to let passengers ride without paying or on other passengers to pay for them, but no such posts have been verified.

Fare Evasion Could Lead to Penalties for Minor Offenses or Fraud... Calls for Guidelines on How to Respond

The photo shows foreigners in downtown Seoul and is unrelated to the specific content of the article. Yonhap News Agency

Under current law, knowingly boarding without paying because of an insufficient balance can be treated as fare evasion under the Minor Offenses Act, punishable by a fine of up to 100,000 won, detention, or a minor fine. If someone repeatedly deceives others to avoid paying, they could face fraud charges under the Criminal Act, which carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won. Bus companies may also charge an additional fare under their terms of carriage.

Some have suggested establishing guidelines for responding to payment errors or unpaid fares. However, some caution that it is too early to conclude from a limited number of witness accounts that tourists of a particular nationality are engaging in organized fare evasion.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.