Using Public Transportation | Easy to Find, Practical Law

What Do I Do If I Left Something on the Bus or Subway?

It happens. You fall asleep or drift off on the bus or subway, then hurry off at your stop, leaving something behind.

It is especially bad if the lost item is a valuable, like your wallet containing your credit card and identification, or your cell phone. It is a panic-inducing moment.

However, what is done is done. Rather than going into a tailspin, try taking the following steps:

If You Left Your Item on a Bus

- First, contact the bus company to see if they have your lost item. If the item was not received yet, explain in as much detail as possible the bus’s route, its number, where you left the item, and leave your contact information.

- You can also call the nearest police station or patrol station, or log on to the <Police Agency Lost Items Comprehensive Information Site> to see if your item has been processed, or to report your lost item.

- You can also use your region’s to see if your lost item is being held there.

Public Transport Integrated Lost and Found Center

· This site is run directly by the Seoul city government. It is working together with the Korea Association for ICT Promotion’s <Cell Phone Recovery Call Center>, so you can look for lost cell phones on this site as well.

· For those of you who are not used to the internet, the <120 Dasan Call Center> is on call 24 hours a day. You can call 120 without an area code at any time to find out where lost items are registered and held.

If You Left Your Item on the Subway

- First, call the final station on the line you were on and the station where you got off the train. If you transferred between lines, it is a good idea to contact all the end stations of every section you were on.

· An enormous number of lost items are processed every day through the subway lost and found system, so it is wise to be as specific as possible about your lost item (when it was lost, what it looks like, what it contains, other characteristics) when you call.

- You can also call a nearby police station or patrol station, or log on to the <Police Agency Lost Items Comprehensive Information Site> to discover if your lost item is registered, or to report your missing item.

- You can also log on to your region’s subway operator’s site or public transportation lost and found center to see if your lost item is being held.

What If I Have Discovered an Item Someone Else Has Lost?

What Do I Do with the Acquired Item?

- You can return the item directly if you can find out the owner’s contact information. If not, you can hand over the item to the driver of your bus, or the customer center in front of the turnstile of the subway station.

- You can also surrender the item to a nearby police station including affiliated stations, such as precinct stations and patrol stations (Article 1 (1) of the Lost Items Act).

※ If you pick up a cell phone, inform the nearest Post Office, or put it in a mailbox. This way the phone will be handed over to the to be held for the owner.

Can I Be Compensated for Returning a Lost Item?

- A person whose lost item is restored must pay the discoverer compensation between 5% and 20% of the item price (Article 4 of the Lost Items Act).

- However, this compensation may not be claimed if one month passes since the return of the item (Articles 4 and 6 of the Lost Items Act).

What If I Do Not Return It?

- You may be charged with embezzlement of lost articles.

· Any person who embezzles a lost item, driftage, or other item that has escaped the possession of another may be punished by imprisonment of not longer than one year or fine or minor fine of not more than KRW 3 million (Article 360 (1) of the Criminal Act).

Here Is What Happens to Unclaimed Items

Unclaimed items are held for seven days at the bus company’s or a subway’s lost and found center before being turned over to the area’s police station (Source : Police Agency Lost Items Comprehensive Information Site).

When no person claims the collection of an item retained by a police station, the ownership therein shall vest in the National Treasury (Article 15 of the Lost Items Act).

ENGLISH