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Seoul Station taxi stand view. Photo is unrelated to the article content.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Three individual taxi operators who falsely claimed fuel subsidies without operating taxis have been referred to the prosecution.

On the 15th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Traffic Investigation Police Team announced that they investigated long-term parked vehicles near residential areas and vehicles suspected of unauthorized suspension of business and fraudulent receipt of fuel subsidies, and referred three individual taxi operators to the prosecution with charges including violation of the Passenger Transport Service Act.

After the COVID-19 pandemic caused a decline in business performance, cases were uncovered where operators did not conduct normal business but used their vehicles privately like personal cars while engaging in other work. Mr. A held a second job at a resort in Gyeonggi Province and moved to his garage in Seoul on weekends and holidays, fraudulently using his fuel card 99 times.

There was also a case of an operator running a moving company in Seoul who used a personal taxi for private moving-related tasks and fraudulently used the fuel card 121 times. Another operator, whose health deteriorated and who visited hospitals for personal treatment or nursing hospitals, was caught fraudulently using the fuel card 145 times.

The city analyzed fuel subsidy statistics over the past six months and examined 456 vehicles suspected of unauthorized suspension of business. Among these, 50 suspicious vehicles with five or fewer monthly refuelings were selected based on the number of refuelings and subsidy payment amounts, and on-site investigations are ongoing.

Vehicles with no business records but with fuel subsidy payment records are selected as suspicious for both unauthorized suspension and fraudulent receipt of fuel subsidies, and will be subject to compulsory investigation.

Going forward, the city plans to regularly secure fuel subsidy receipt data, conduct frequent on-site inspections of vehicles suspected of illegal activities, and guide transport operators to conduct normal business activities.

Additionally, to alleviate ride shortages during late-night hours, the city will investigate individual taxis not in operation on-site to encourage normal operation and will strictly punish illegal activities. Individual taxi suspension of business is allowed for up to one year after reporting to the relevant district office and undergoing review.

Baek Ho, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government Urban Transportation Office, stated, “Unauthorized suspension of taxi operations and fraudulent receipt of fuel subsidies not only increase inconvenience for citizens but also seriously undermine trust in the taxi transport business. We will do our best to establish passenger transport order through active and strict crackdowns so that citizens can use taxi services more conveniently.”

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