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A man from Uzbekistan is suspected of assaulting a South Korean taxi driver in his fifties after the driver attempted to call police about what he believed was an illegal ride-hailing operation, South Korean outlet MoneyToday reported.
The incident took place on the morning of 18 October in a busy street in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The licensed driver, identified only by the surname A., said he witnessed a man identified as B. — described as Uzbek — collecting cash fares from passengers in a private vehicle. A. stepped out of his own car and demanded that B. stop the unlicensed service. When A. then reached for his phone to call police, B. struck him in the jaw with his fist. A. lost consciousness immediately and fell to the ground.
Dashcam footage broadcast on a local television news programme showed B. continuing to kick and punch A. while he lay unconscious on the pavement. B. then left the scene without rendering any assistance.
When A. regained consciousness, he discovered his phone was missing. Using a spare handset kept in his vehicle, he contacted police. The missing phone was subsequently recovered at a shop approximately 40 metres from where the assault occurred.
A. told reporters he had no memory of the attack itself and only learned the full sequence of events after watching the dashcam recording. He was diagnosed with a concussion. He said the injury had left him unable to drive and was causing him financial hardship, citing persistent dizziness and anxiety.
A pattern of complaints, and no action
A. said the assault was not his first encounter with the problem. He stated he had reported illegal taxi operations in the area on multiple occasions but that no enforcement action had followed. Police told him the evidence was insufficient, while local authorities cited the need for police cooperation — each deflecting responsibility to the other, according to the report.
MoneyToday described the broader operation: unlicensed operators recruit passengers through Telegram and other messaging applications and collect payment in cash, making the activity difficult to document. A. said the vehicles involved frequently run red lights, drive dangerously and carry more passengers than permitted. He added that his own attempts to gather evidence himself had left him afraid of being attacked again.
No charges or court proceedings were mentioned in the report, and B.’s legal status in South Korea was not specified. The case remains under police investigation.