“Not just one of the four—all of them had insufficient balances, but they just got on”... Controversy over foreign passengers’ ‘fare-dodging trick’ reignites [What do you think?]

[Financial News] Accounts of foreign passengers boarding buses without paying despite being notified that their transit card balances were insufficient have been emerging one after another. The controversy over what has been dubbed a “fare-dodging trick” has flared up again, amid claims that foreign tourists are sharing ways to ride Korean buses for free as if they were travel tips.
According to Newsis on the 22nd, a post appeared on social media (SNS) on the 19th saying that four foreign women had boarded a city bus in Seoul without paying the fare.
The poster, identified as A, said the four foreign women tapped their transit cards on the reader one after another, but each received a message saying, “Insufficient balance.” They went onto the bus without paying any fare, and the driver reportedly did not stop them.
A said they personally confronted the women as they got off the bus, saying, “It wasn’t just one of the four—all of them had insufficient balances, but they just got on.” A added, “I told them, ‘You can’t ride the bus without paying,’ and they seemed flustered as they said, ‘We know.’”
Other people followed up on the post with accounts of witnessing similar scenes. One netizen suspected deliberate fare evasion, saying that within a week, two Western women and then a Western man had taken turns tapping multiple transit cards and boarded anyway when the payment did not go through.
A netizen who said they had seen similar scenes several times in the Gwanghwamun area claimed that drivers often tell passengers to just get on because they do not speak English, and that the passengers seem to be taking advantage of this.
There were also claims that ways to ride Korean buses for free are circulating on social media abroad as travel tips. The claim is that posts saying drivers turn a blind eye or other passengers pay the fare for them are being shared on Reddit and TikTok.
Earlier, last September, reports that some foreign tourists had boarded Route 101, which departs from Jeju Airport, without paying despite low-balance warnings also sparked controversy.
Netizens who saw the post responded with comments such as, “Already the second time in a week,” “Looks like they knew and just got on,” “This is going around abroad as a tip for using public transportation in Korea,” and “Buses should display fare notices in multiple languages, including English and Chinese, and drivers should also be instructed on how to handle fare nonpayment.”

[email protected] Seong Min-seo Reporter