The Philippine government has stepped in after it was reported that a member of the boy band Tomorrow X Together had to pay an overpriced taxi fare in Cebu, the Philippines.

Last Wednesday, a vlog-style video from Tomorrow X Together member Soobin’s vacation with his friend was posted on the group’s official YouTube channel, capturing a scene in which a driver kept arbitrarily raising the fare. The video had garnered more than 510,205 views as of Monday.


In the video, Soobin and his friend calculated that their taxi fare would be 300 pesos ($17). At the airport, however, they agreed to take a taxi for 500 pesos, as the driver demanded.

Once they hopped into the taxi, however, the driver suddenly raised the fare to 1,000 pesos. The two passengers, Soobin and his friend, had to point out that the agreed-upon fare was 500 pesos.

The driver and the two passengers settled on a fare of 500 pesos after a spat.

After Philippine local media reported what was shown in Soobin’s video, Manila's state transportation authorities jumped in to take corrective measures.

Last Friday, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board under the Philippines’ Department of Transportation ordered the taxi driver to immediately return his driver’s license and the vehicle’s license plates. The agency also barred the driver from operating his business for 30 days as a preventive suspension.

The authority said the taxi driver excessively charged the fare and deliberately failed to use the meter during the trip, noting that such conduct had harmed the Philippines’ international reputation.

The authority is currently reviewing measures to impose a criminal penalty and to confiscate the vehicle based on the investigation results.

BY JANG GU-SEUL [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]