The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has proposed a bill to enact a “three strikes and you’re out” law for overcharging taxi and van drivers. 

The move is welcome as we still hear about foreign tourists getting ripped off by unscrupulous cab drivers.

For instance, a taxi driver was booked last month for taking 400,000 won from a Chinese passenger for a ride from Incheon International Airport to the Mapo district of Seoul. The fare on the meter was 68,000 won but the tourist gave the driver eight 50,000-won bills as he was confused about Korean bank notes.

The ministry’s bill, if endorsed by lawmakers, would deprive taxi drivers of their licenses when they are found to have overcharged customers three times within a span of two years.

Under the proposed rule, a taxi driver who is caught ripping off customers for the first time would be fined 200,000 won. A second-strike offender would face a license suspension for 30 days on top of a fine of 400,000 won. A third-time offender would be subject to an outright license revocation in addition to 600,000 won in fine.

Currently, a taxi driver who cheats customers three times within a year is only suspended for 20 days and fined 600,000 won.

The bill also proposes to hold taxi companies accountable for the shameless behavior of their drivers. A taxi company would lose its business license if any of its drivers is “out” for getting caught overcharging passengers three times. 

The ministry also proposed toughened regulations for “call van” drivers at airports. Call vans are for passengers with bulky and heavy freight or cargo. A call van driver is supposed to agree upon a price with his passenger before departing. But some drivers are known to ignore this rule and overcharge passengers.

Under the bill, a van driver would be suspended for 30 days for a first-strike offense. A second-time offense would increase the suspension to 60 days, while a third-strike offense would cost the driver his or her license.

The ministry’s initiative, if implemented as proposed, will help curb, if not totally stop, the practice of overcharging by taxi and van drivers, thus improving tourist satisfaction.

The government is encouraged to more proactively address other tourist complaints to make Korea a more attractive destination. It is advised to crack down on travel agencies that operate cheap packaged programs and force shopping on tourists.