On February 5, 2024, an incident involving the hailing of 18 taxis in front of President Yoon Seok-yul’s official residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, attracted a lot of attention. It turned out to be an intentional act, not a simple misunderstanding or system error. The mass hailing of taxis by anonymous callers using ‘no numbers’ was an unusual occurrence, which prompted the police to take swift action and launch an investigation.
The person behind the incident is caught by the police
On February 7, 2024, just two days after the incident, police arrested a woman in her 30s for obstruction of justice. This was the case of Mr. A, who allegedly used a taxi hailing application to falsely call 18 empty taxis to a location near the presidential residence, but the cell phone number used was found to not exist. He is currently being investigated by the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul for his motives for committing the crime.
Police response and incident investigation
The police investigating the case note that when Mr. A hails a taxi, he sets the “departure point” to a specific government office near the presidential residence. We are working to determine what motivated Mr. A to take this action and how this incident may have impacted the safety of the President’s Residence. Taxi drivers who were stopped by police after receiving a call and attempting to enter the presidential palace were all given the same answer: “I received a call and followed the directions of the navigation system.
The police are taking this incident very seriously and are keeping all possibilities open in their investigation. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, police responded by turning back taxis and increasing security at the presidential residence. The incident is expected to lead to a review of the security arrangements at the presidential residence, as well as various discussions on how to prevent similar incidents in the future.
This incident is being analyzed from a variety of perspectives, and more information will be provided as police investigate. It is important that these unusual events are thoroughly investigated and responded to by the relevant authorities to ensure that they do not recur.
