<Anchor> It



is very difficult to catch a taxi at night these days, to the extent that the word 'taxi riot' comes out. It is because the number of taxi drivers has decreased significantly since the Corona 19 incident, but it seems difficult to solve this problem because there is no sharp countermeasure.



Reporter Nam Jung-min reports.



<Reporter>



Late at night when the subway is cut off, around Gangnam Station in Seoul.



After the meeting, people poured into the streets.



I beckon and call for a taxi using the phone app, but there is no response at all.



[Taxi call office worker: I think I (call) more than 10 times. I have to go to work tomorrow, what the hell are you doing now... .]



Why?



I went to a taxi company in Seoul.



Even in the daytime, empty cars are parked in the garage.



Because there are not enough taxi drivers to drive cars.



After the Corona 19 incident, close to 10,000 taxi drivers in Seoul alone were driving the car.



This is largely attributable to the fact that the income was too low as it became difficult to pay private payments due to the sharp drop in passengers.



After the start of normal life recovery last month, business restrictions were lifted and the number of late-night passengers increased, but the number of taxis running is about 5,000 less than before Corona due to the lack of drivers to drive.



[Moon Chung-seok/Chairman of Seoul Corporate Taxi Association: I am struggling with my life, so I am changing jobs now.

Going to food delivery or something like this made more money every day, rather…

.] As a



measure of difficulty, the city of Seoul held job fairs with taxi companies by providing employment subsidies, but only about 200 people visited in three days.



[Ex-Chief: (Meter) Everything goes out as it goes.

There are only drivers leaving the company, no drivers coming in, now.] There are



arguments that taxi companies should increase their income by raising fares, but this inevitably leads to a burden on citizens.



[Tae-Kyung Koo / Head of Taxi Policy Team in Seoul: It is subject to price management, taxi fares too.

So, if you want to raise the rate once, you will suffer.

If a social consensus is reached, maybe we can deal with the issue...

.]



Without long working hours, low wages, and improved treatment, it is difficult to fill the positions of the departed drivers right now, so the inconvenience to citizens is expected to continue for a considerable period of time.



(Video editing: Hwang Ji-young, VJ: Kim Hyeong-jin)