'I really hate Korea': driver refuses ride

Korean resident in Taiwan files police report

This image is unrelated to the article. [AI-generated image]
This image is unrelated to the article. [AI-generated image]

A taxi driver in Taiwan was caught on video refusing to carry a Korean passenger and violently throwing the passenger's luggage out of the trunk.

According to JTBC's "Sageon Banjang," a TV current-affairs program, footage released Wednesday showed the Taiwanese driver directing anti-Korean remarks at the passenger, calling South Korea "a nation of traitors" and saying he "really hates" the country.

The video was submitted by a Korean resident in Taiwan, identified only as A.

A said he had hailed the taxi through an app and loaded two suitcases into the trunk. He then asked the driver to wait while he went to fetch a companion — and that was when the situation suddenly turned.

The driver, upon realizing A was Korean, pulled the suitcases out of the trunk and flung them hard onto the ground.

A said the suitcases weighed 45 kilograms in total and that the driver's actions damaged a laptop inside, resulting in losses of more than 3 million won ($2,210).

When A confronted him, the driver denied any wrongdoing, saying "I don't know anything about it." A immediately filed a police report. During the investigation, the driver reportedly repeated the remarks, saying "I really hate Korea — it's a nation of traitors."

Police reportedly told A that the driver had shown no intention of apologizing or offering compensation, and that the case could be referred to prosecutors.

The incident comes against a backdrop of diplomatic friction between South Korea and Taiwan. The Taiwanese government had strongly protested Seoul's decision to list Taiwan as "China (Taiwan)" on its electronic arrival declaration form. The South Korean government agreed to remove the designation in late March, formally resolving the dispute — but resentment among Taiwanese over South Korea's diplomatic stance toward China appears to linger.


jshan@heraldcorp.com