SEOUL (KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A total of 1.4 billion won (S$1.74 million) of cash was lost on the subway in Seoul over the past three years, Seoul Metro said Sunday (Dec 3).

Fortunately about 85 per cent of the money has been returned to their owners.

Items found in subway stations and trains are kept for seven days at lost-and-found centres and also posted online at www.lost112.go.kr. If no one claims the items, they are handed over to police stations, where they are kept for nine more months until they become property of the state.

The amount of money found on Subway Line Nos. 1 to 8 climbed steadily between January 2014 and December 2016: some 340 million won was reported missing in 2014, 460 million won in 2015, and 590 million won in 2016.

During the period, approximately 130 million won in unclaimed monies went to police stations.

Seoul Metro has this piece of advice for careless commuters: Try to remember the number of the train car you boarded and the time of boarding.

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It is not known whether this tip helped rescue the holiday of one absent-minded Chinese tourist, who left a shopping bag containing 4 million won in cash on Subway Line No. 4 on Nov 20. The tourist managed to recover the money in 2.5 hours with the help of metro staff.