Subway Lost Items Total 110,000 Annually... Wallets, Bags, and Mobile Phones Most Common

68% of Lost Items Reported in the Past Year Returned to Owners
Easy to Find If Location and Time of Loss Are Known... Stored for Up to 6 Months

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] #45 minutes before the interview, job seeker A forgot the bag containing interview clothes on Line 2 train and got off. Feeling hopeless, A visited the Customer Safety Office, and station staff quickly located the bag by checking the time and location where A got off the train. Thanks to this, A was able to safely complete the interview.

#Passenger B left a wedding guestbook on Line 4 train. Staff at the terminal station Danggogae collected the guestbook and contacted the wedding hall, successfully returning it to B. B expressed gratitude, saying, "I was able to thank all the guests without missing anyone."

There was even a case where a portrait photo, neatly wrapped in a bojagi (traditional Korean wrapping cloth), was found as lost property. After registering it on the lost property information website, an urgent call came from C saying, "I lost it, and it is a very precious photo." After verifying identity, the Lost Property Center returned the portrait photo, allowing C to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Seoul Metro announced on the 14th that out of approximately 110,000 lost items reported in the Seoul subway from November last year to the end of October this year, 68% were safely returned to their owners.

The most frequently lost item by passengers was wallets, accounting for 21% (23,933 cases) of the total. Bags followed with 18% (20,438 cases), and mobile phones with 17% (18,670 cases).

Since about 7.5 million people use the Seoul subway daily, the types of lost items and the stories of passengers who lost them were diverse. On average, about 310 lost items were reported daily, totaling 113,106 cases annually, of which 76,903 were returned to their owners. Currently, 14,300 lost items are being stored, and 21,903 items have been handed over to the police.

What should you do if you lose something in the subway? Seoul Metro emphasizes that knowing the location and time of loss is most important. Based on this information, station staff can search the area where the lost item is likely to be and find the item.

For lost items inside trains, note the time you got off, the door location where you exited, and the location of the item inside the train. If you lost something inside the station, first identify the time and place of loss. However, if an item falls into the gap between the train and platform, it cannot be retrieved during operating hours for safety reasons, as platform screen doors cannot be opened to enter the tracks; such items can only be retrieved during late-night hours after service ends.

If you cannot find your item, you can search on the National Police Agency’s integrated lost property management website 'lost112' or the mobile app (lost112). All lost items found in the subway are registered on the website, making it easy and quick to find your belongings. However, since some passengers have tried to take items that are not theirs, identity verification has been conducted when receiving lost items since last year.

Lost items are initially stored at the subway station where they were found for a certain period (about one week), then transferred to lost property centers located at City Hall Station, Chungmuro Station, Wangsimni Station, and Taereungipgu Station, where they are kept for up to six months. Items not claimed within this period are either transferred to the police station or, with police approval, provided free of charge to social welfare organizations.

Kim Sung-eun, Director of Business Planning at Seoul Metro, said, "For easily lost items like wallets or bags, putting a business card with contact information inside can ensure 100% return to the owner even if lost." He added, "If you lose something in the subway, immediately report it to station staff with the location and time of loss, and search for lost items through the lost property management website and mobile app."

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