Bus Driver Who Found 8 Million Won and Plane Ticket Lost by Japanese Tourist

Bus driver Lee Seong-moon (right)

A bus driver who found a bag containing approximately 8 million won in cash lost by a Japanese tourist and brought it to the police station has become a topic of conversation. This is the story of Lee Seong-moon (55), a driver of city bus number 172.

On the 19th at around 12:20 PM, Lee discovered the bag inside a bus that had entered the garage in Hagye-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul. The bag contained 47 bills of 50,000 won, 47 bills of 10,000 yen (approximately 99,000 won), totaling about 8 million won in cash, as well as a Japanese passport and a plane ticket. Lee immediately took the bag to the civil affairs office of the Nowon Police Station in Seoul, which is close to the garage, considering the anxious feelings of a foreigner who lost not only cash but also important documents for international travel while in a foreign country.

He reportedly told the police, "It appears to be a lost item of a foreign tourist, but according to company policy, it takes three days to return it to the owner, so please find the owner quickly."

The police, unable to contact the Embassy of Japan in Korea, examined the contents of the bag and found a hotel stay card. Using the phone number registered at the hotel, they were able to safely return the belongings to the owner in about an hour and a half. The Japanese tourist was reportedly devastated as they were about to depart the country but had lost cash, passport, and plane ticket.

The Nowon Police Station announced on the 23rd that they presented a letter of appreciation to Lee for his good deed.

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