Seoul to redeem ripped-off foreign tourists

SEOUL, March 12 (Yonhap) -- The Seoul Metropolitan Government is pushing to compensate foreign tourists who are overcharged by local service providers as part of efforts to minimize their losses and to improve the city's image, city officials said Tuesday. Foreign tourists often complain about such unfair practices of being ripped off by some taxi drivers and shop owners, which tarnishes the national image as a major tourist destination. Under the instruction of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, the city is working to make an ordinance that regulates details about the compensation policy such as the amount and potential recipients, with a goal to have it take effect in July, according to the officials. "The best solution would be catching those unscrupulous persons right away and forcing them to return the overcharged money to the victims. But if that's not the case, the city should be responsible for compensating them in economic and psychological terms," said Park Jin-young, a city official in charge of tourism policies. "We would not pay a lot in the first place, but we are planning to expand the amount in phases," he said, noting that the city is trying to raise funds for compensation in cooperation with the Seoul Tourism Association and other relevant entities. As part of efforts to root out such unfair practices, the municipal government has come up with diverse measures. Last month it announced a plan to offer 500,000 won (US$455.23) as a reward to those who report information about overcharging foreigners, open a center that mostly deals with complaints from foreigners about scams and launch a task force in charge of monitoring service areas often used by foreign tourists to mitigate their inconvenience. graceoh@yna.co.kr (END)