By Kim Rahn



Taxi drivers in Seoul refusing to take passengers to specific destinations may face operation suspension for 10 days, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Sunday.



The plan is a part of efforts to guarantee passenger convenience amid the city government's plans to raise taxi fares next year, the first increase since October 2013.



City officials said they were talking with the transport ministry to revise relevant enforcement regulations, so taxi drivers who refuse passengers could face 200,000 won ($175) in fines and a 10-day suspension even if caught for the first time.



Under the current rules, cabbies are subject to 200,000 won in fines and a warning when they are caught for the first time. And when caught for the second time, they face 400,000 won in fines and 30 days of operation suspension. For the third time, they are fined 600,000 won and their license is canceled.



"A 10-day operation suspension will be critical to cabbies, because it means their monthly earnings would be cut by about 700,000 won," a city official said.



The city government earlier took the right to crack down on cabbies' refusal of passengers from district offices in an effort to more directly control it.



Such measures have come while the city is planning to increase the base fare of taxis from the current 3,000 won to 3,800 won during daytime starting next year. For nighttime operation this will rise from 3,600 won to 5,400 won.



In the meantime, the city government and the taxi companies already agreed to freeze the money, which cabbies have to turn over to the companies out of their daily earnings for vehicle management, for the first six months after the fare increase, so the rise can actually help increase the drivers' income.



It follows criticism that the previous fare increase only helped the companies, which raised the money they received from cabbies in accordance with the fare hike. In 2013 when the base fare rose by 25 percent, the companies raised the money they received from cabbies by 24 percent.

