Lost and Found in Seoul: Subway, Taxi, Airport and Police (2026)

By Gape · 7 min read · Published November 14, 2026

Quick answer: For lost and found in Seoul, act within the hour: tell subway station staff (or call 1577-1234) your train time, the platform door number where you got off, and where you left the item. If it isn’t found that day, call the Seoul Metro lost-and-found center for your line (weekdays 09:00–18:00) and search found items on the police site Police Minwon24 (경찰민원24), which replaced LOST112 in January 2026. Items left in taxis are traced through your Kakao T history or card payment.

What should you do in the first hour?

Contact the operator of whatever you were riding, right away, with the time and place: staff can still catch a subway train or reach a taxi driver before the item moves on. Transit operators in Seoul keep found items for 7 days and then hand unclaimed ones to the police.

If you don’t speak Korean, call 1330, Korea’s tourist interpretation line (+82-2-1330 from a foreign number). It interprets for travelers dealing with transport, hotels, restaurants and shops.

How do you get something back from the Seoul subway?

Tell staff three things the moment you notice: Seoul’s city government says that with this information station staff can search the train quickly.

1. The time of your train (or the time you got off, plus the line and direction).
2. The car you got off from, using the number on the platform screen door (승강장 안전문 번호), such as 2-2 or 7-4. Take a photo of it before you leave the platform.
3. Where you left it: on the overhead rack (선반), under the seat, or on the seat.

Go to the customer safety office at any station, or call 1577-1234. Items that aren’t returned the same day are registered on Police Minwon24 and kept at the line’s lost-and-found center for one week.

All four centers open weekdays 09:00–18:00 and close on weekends and public holidays. Bring your passport to collect. If you dropped something onto the tracks, staff can’t open the screen doors during service; they collect track items after the last train. Our Seoul subway guide explains lines and platform layouts.

Can the subway send your item to you?

Yes, Seoul Metro runs two delivery options, so you don’t have to cross the city on a weekday.

For home delivery, call the center holding your item to confirm your identity; it then texts you a link where you enter the address and pay. Cash, food, securities, explosives, and plants and animals can’t be delivered. Seoul’s announcement doesn’t say whether foreign phone numbers or overseas addresses work, so ask the center, and use a Korean address such as your hotel if you can.

What if you left something in a taxi?

Find the taxi’s details first, then contact the driver or the taxi company: Seoul’s city government notes that app-hailed taxis leave a record of the driver, and card payments let you trace the car.

1. Booked on Kakao T? App-hailed taxis leave a record of the driver, so start from the trip in the app and contact the driver or Kakao T’s in-app support as soon as you can. Our Kakao T guide covers the app.
2. Paid with a T-money card or a Korean card? Call T-money (1644-1188) or Cashbee (1644-1472) and enter the card number to get the taxi’s number and the driver’s contact, as Seoul’s city guide describes.
3. Hailed on the street and paid in cash? Contact the regional taxi association (택시운송사업조합) with the plate number if you have it, or the pickup and drop-off places and times. If the language is a problem, 1330 interprets for transport issues.

Taxi companies keep found items for 7 days and then hand them to the police. Keep the receipt from every ride; it’s the quickest record of the car if your card can’t be traced.

How do you search found items on Police Minwon24?

Search found items (습득물 조회) on Police Minwon24 at minwon24.police.go.kr by date and item type. The police merged the old LOST112 lost-and-found site into Police Minwon24 in January 2026, so guides that still link to lost112.go.kr are out of date.

• Search first. Seoul Metro registers subway items on Police Minwon24 the day they’re found, and Incheon Airport points travelers to the same search.
• Report a loss (분실물 신고) if your item isn’t listed yet. Seoul’s guidance for the old LOST112 site was to give the date, area and item details.
• Collect it with your passport at the office the listing names. If the site won’t load from abroad or you can’t read it, ask 1330 to help.

Korea’s lost property law gives the police 6 months. Seoul’s police lost-and-found center in Seodaemun said in April 2025 that unclaimed items are auctioned off about 6–9 months after they come in. Wireless earbuds were the most common item it held.

What about Incheon Airport?

Incheon Airport runs a lost-and-found office in each terminal, open 07:00–21:30 every day. Both offices are on the basement level (B1), on the west side in Terminal 1 and the east side in Terminal 2.

What happens to an item depends on what it is:

• Foreign passports are kept for 1 month, then sent to the embassy.
• Phones, tablets and smartwatches are kept for 1 month, then go to the Phone Finder Call Center (1566-4300).
• Power banks and opened food are thrown away the same or next day.
• Things you just bought duty-free go to customs (T1 032-722-4425, T2 032-723-5122), and items left on a plane go to the airline.

If you’ve already flown home, email or call the office to check whether your item was found. It can send items by cash-on-delivery courier from ₩7,000 with a copy of your ID and the receipt number. Ask whether your item qualifies, because fragile, valuable and bulky items may not. To get from the airport to Seoul afterwards, see our Incheon Airport to Seoul guide.

FAQ

Is LOST112 still working?

LOST112’s lost-and-found service moved to Police Minwon24 (경찰민원24) in January 2026. Search found items at minwon24.police.go.kr instead.

Are Seoul subway lost-and-found centers open on weekends?

No. The four Seoul Metro centers open weekdays 09:00–18:00 only. On a weekend, report the loss at a station or on 1577-1234, then call the center on Monday or arrange delivery.

How long are lost items kept in Korea?

Subway and taxi operators keep items for 7 days, then pass them to the police. The legal holding period with the police is 6 months.

I lost my passport at Incheon Airport. What happens to it?

Incheon Airport keeps found foreign passports for one month, then sends them to the embassy. Call the terminal’s lost-and-found office first, and contact your embassy about an emergency travel document if you’re flying soon.

Can I get my item back after I’ve left Korea?

Often, yes. Incheon Airport ships by courier from ₩7,000, and Seoul Metro offers home delivery from ₩5,000. Ask the center whether it can ship abroad or to someone in Korea who can forward it.