A Thai tourist in South Korea shared a scary experience she had with a taxi driver on her way to Seoul Station. The driver used a translation app to ask her personal questions, like if she had a boyfriend or why she wasn’t married.

He even offered her a cleaning job and said that if she didn’t have money for the fare to Busan, she could “pay with her body.” According to the South China Morning Post, he said, “If you do not have money for the fare, you can pay with your body.” At one point, the driver stopped the car in the middle of the ride, which made her very scared. Although he did drop her at Seoul Station in the end, he gave her his phone number and asked when she would come back. The tourist reported him through the taxi app and posted a video online to warn others. Her post got more than 6.6 lakh (660,000) likes and hundreds of comments.

People in South Korea and Thailand were very angry after seeing her story. Many are asking for strict action against the driver for his shameful and dangerous behavior toward a woman tourist. The video got a lot of support from people in both South Korea and Thailand. Many South Koreans even apologized on behalf of the driver and asked her to report him to the police.

Social media reactions

People on social media called it sexual harassment and said the driver should get strict punishment. Some people suggested that his personal information should be made public so everyone knows about him. Others said the driver’s license should be cancelled to stop him from doing this again. The case has made many people angry and led to calls for better safety for tourists and stricter rules for drivers.

One person wrote, “You should report this to the police. This is sexual harassment. If people like him are not punished, they will keep doing it to others.” Another person commented, “We should punish this driver strictly for sexual harassment or at least make his personal information public.” Right now, South Korean law only punishes physical harassment in public, not verbal abuse. But there is an “insult law” in South Korea. According to Article 311 of South Korean law, “A person who publicly insults another can be punished by up to one year in jail or a fine of up to two million won.”