When a sighting showed TOMORROW X TOGETHER member Soobin being overcharged for a taxi during his trip to the Philippines, locals were thrown into an uproar.
A new video was recently posted on TOMORROW X TOGETHER's official YouTube channel titled "Soobin's super fun and super tiring vacation."
In the released video, Soobin was traveling in Cebu, Philippines with a friend. After arriving at the airport, Soobin tried to take a taxi to move to his accommodation, and he said, "(I checked beforehand) it should be about 300 pesos (about 7,500 won). If they charge more than 300 pesos, let's act angry once," as they moved to the pickup area.
At that time, a taxi driver suggested 500 pesos (about 12,500 won) from the airport to the accommodation, and after failing to negotiate, Soobin got into the taxi. Then the driver suddenly demanded 1,000 pesos (about 25,000 won), saying it was a "car with expensive gas."
Soobin erupted, "Did you hear that? I'm going to report you," and said, "Record that he said 1,000 pesos. I already paid too much at 500 pesos, and here he called for 1,000 pesos."
Soobin's friend said, "Still, it's better that we arrived safely. We're so tired," and Soobin agreed and was satisfied with 500 pesos. After getting out of the taxi, Soobin said, "Before getting out of the taxi he tried to make me pay 1,000 pesos again, so I firmly said I would pay 500 pesos and got out."
As the controversy grew, the Philippines Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) ordered the driver to surrender his license plate and license and imposed a 30-day suspension from operation. Authorities said they consider failing to use the meter and overcharging to be serious violations and are reviewing additional license revocation, criminal charges, or vehicle seizure depending on the investigation results.
Netizens believed to be in the Philippines commented on the YouTube channel, responding, "As a Filipino, I feel ashamed of the taxi driver's behavior," "Soobin, I'm really sorry," and "Thank you so much for reporting this."
[Photo] OSEN DB, YouTube capture
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