Left a Phone or Bag on a Seoul Subway or Taxi? Get It Back — Korea How Now guide

Left a Phone or Bag on a Seoul Subway or Taxi? Get It Back

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Last checked: November 5, 2026 · Sources: Seoul Metro, Seoul Line 9, Korean National Police Agency (Police Minwon24), Seoul Metropolitan Government and Kakao Mobility pages, linked below.

Left something on the Seoul subway? Tell station staff the time you got off and which way you were going. After registration the item goes to that line’s lost-and-found center for up to 7 days, then to the police, who keep it for 6 months. You search for it on Police Minwon24, the site that replaced Lost112.

For a taxi, your fastest route is the driver. Kakao T’s safe-connect call reaches the driver without sharing your personal number, and a card receipt shows the taxi number and a phone number.

What should you do first?

What to do after losing something in Seoul: on the train or just after, tell station staff with the time, direction and your transit card; dropped on the tracks, collected after the last train; Kakao T taxi, use the safe-connect call; 1 to 7 days, the line's lost-and-found center weekdays 09:00-18:00 with your passport; after 7 days, police keep it 6 months, search Police Minwon24; can't reach the center, courier delivery to an address in Korea 5,000-7,000 won by weight
Drawn by us from Seoul Metro, Police Minwon24, Seoul Metropolitan Government and Kakao Mobility pages (checked November 5, 2026).

Seoul Metro and the Line 9 operator ask for these details when you report: the time you got off, the direction of the train, where on the platform you got on or off, and the train number if you saw it. On Line 9, also say whether it was an express or a local train.

Station staff can also work out your train from the transit card you tapped. Hand them the same card, so they can read your tap-in and tap-out times.

We’d report at the station office before you walk out. Your card already holds the times staff need, and the centers that store items close at weekends.

Which lost-and-found center has your subway item?

Each Seoul Metro-run line sends found items to one center, and all of them close on weekends and public holidays. Two stretches are run by other operators: Line 1 outside Seoul Station to Cheongnyangni is Korail (call its customer center, 1544-7788), and Line 7 west of Kkachiul goes to Incheon Transit’s Incheon City Hall station center (032-451-3650).

Line Center (station) Phone Hours
1, 2 City Hall 02-6110-1122 Weekdays 09:00–18:00
3, 4 Chungmuro 02-6110-3344 Weekdays 09:00–18:00
5, 8 Wangsimni 02-6311-6765 or 6768 Weekdays 09:00–18:00
6, 7 Taereung-ipgu (Taereung Entrance) 02-6311-6766 or 6767 Weekdays 09:00–18:00
9, Eonju to VHS Medical Center Sports Complex 02-2656-0787 (Seoul Metro) / 02-2656-0797 (Line 9 operator) Weekdays 09:00–18:00 (Seoul Metro) / 10:00–19:00 (Line 9 operator)
9, western part Dongjak 02-2656-0999 Weekdays 10:00–19:00

Seoul Metro and the Line 9 operator list different numbers and hours for the Sports Complex center. Which one is current is not officially confirmed — check before you go. Seoul Metro’s main line is 1577-1234.

To collect, bring ID. For a visitor, that means your passport.

How long do they keep it?

Stage Who holds it How long
Found on a train or in a station The station registers it on Police Minwon24 Until it moves to the center
Lost-and-found center for that line Seoul Metro or Line 9 Up to 7 days
Police station or police lost-property center Police 6 months
Nobody claims it Becomes state property After 6 months

You can collect at every stage. Seoul Metro sends expensive items to the police at once and throws away opened food.

How do you search Police Minwon24 for found items?

The Korean National Police Agency moved its lost-item portal into Police Minwon24 (minwon24.police.go.kr). Seoul Metro and Line 9 now link there instead of Lost112.

  1. Open Police Minwon24 found-item search. No login is needed to search.
  2. Switch the language menu at the top to English. It is a machine translation, so item names may read oddly.
  3. Pick the item type, the date range and the region (Seoul).
  4. Under the intake type, choose non-police agencies (subway, airport) for transit finds.
  5. For a phone, search by serial number or IMEI. For an ID card or passport, search by the owner’s name.

If it isn’t listed, report the loss. Police say any police station or police box takes a lost-item report, free, with no documents, within three working hours. Police Minwon24 also offers the lost-item report form in English, as a download on its reporting guide page.

The online report needs a Korean login (anyid). Whether a passport-only visitor can sign in is not officially confirmed, so a police box is the safer bet.

What if you left it in a taxi?

How you rode What to do
Booked on Kakao T Use Kakao T’s safe-connect call (안심연결) to reach the driver without sharing your personal number
Street taxi, paid by card Your receipt shows the taxi number and the phone of the taxi company or driver, per Seoul City’s advice
Paid cash, no receipt Report the loss at a police box and search Police Minwon24

Seoul City also runs a public-transport lost-and-found page in Korean, with a found-item list, on its transport site.

We’d book taxis through an app when you can, so the app can connect you to the driver later. Our taxi app guide for tourists covers signing up.

Can the subway center deliver it to you?

Yes, for items held at a Seoul Metro lost-and-found center, since July 20, 2026. You call the center, apply and pay, and a courier brings it to your door.

Weight Fee
Under 2 kg 5,000 won
2 kg to under 10 kg 6,000 won
10 kg to under 20 kg 7,000 won

Take a common case. You lose a wallet on Line 2 at 22:00 on a Friday. Ask at the station first: a found item usually stays at that station on the day it is found and moves to the center the next day.

Once it has moved, the City Hall center stays shut on Saturday and Sunday, so your earliest pickup there is Monday at 09:00, 59 hours later. Staying until Tuesday? Collect it Monday, or pay 5,000 won (under 2 kg) for courier delivery. Leaving on Sunday? File a police report first.

Whether the center delivers to a hotel or ships abroad is not officially confirmed — check before you go. Ask on the phone before you leave Korea.

Lost a credit or debit card on its own? Call your card company to block it right away: a card handed in by itself is destroyed 7 days after it is received, under National Police Agency rules.

Lost it at the airport or on AREX?

The police contact list gives these numbers:

Place Phone
Incheon International Airport 032-741-3114
Incheon Airport Police 032-745-5561 to 5564
AREX (airport railroad) lost and found 1599-7788
Gimpo Airport 02-2660-4097
Seoul police lost-property center 02-700-2976

Mistakes that cost travelers their things

Searching the old Lost112 site

Older guides and forum answers still point to lost112.go.kr. Seoul Metro and Line 9 now send you to Police Minwon24 instead.

Waiting until the weekend to visit the center

Every subway center closes on Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Compare the next opening time with your flight. If you leave first, report the loss at a police box; police accept a report from you or someone acting for you.

Asking staff to open the platform doors

If your phone falls onto the tracks, staff won’t open the screen doors while trains run. Report the item and the platform spot; Seoul Metro says you can collect it from the next day.

Keeping a purse you found

If you find someone’s wallet or bag, hand it to station staff or a police box. Seoul City warns that the Lost Articles Act requires you to hand it in, and keeping it without reporting can be charged as embezzlement of lost property.

Who can help in English?

Seoul’s 120 city line takes foreign-language calls on weekdays, 09:00 to 18:00: dial 02-120, press 9, then 1 for English. From abroad, call +82-2-731-2120. Police Minwon24’s own line is 182 (weekdays 09:00 to 18:00, +82-182 from abroad).

For other times, the 1330 Korea Travel Hotline offers interpretation around the clock. Lost your transit card too? Our T-money, WOWPASS and Climate Card comparison helps you pick a replacement.

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