The short answer
- Same day? Contact the place directly (station, company, terminal). A few days later? Lost112. — that's the order
- Subway lost and found centers hold items for only 7 days, then they go to the police for up to 9 months
- There are 5 subway lost and found centers (one per group of lines), open weekdays 09:00–18:00 only (closed weekends)
- For taxis: card receipt → ride app history → 120 (Dasan Call Center) — try them in that order
- Phones, passports, and cards follow completely different recovery paths than regular lost items
The biggest mistake people make when they lose something in Korea? Heading straight to the police station. In reality, your item probably hasn’t even arrived there yet. Lost items are first held for a few days by the operator of the place where they were found — the station, the taxi company, the bus company, the airport — before they’re handed over to the police. How many days have passed since you lost it is what determines who you should call first.
I lost something. What should I do first?
Contact the operator of the place where you lost it — not the police. The order is fixed. Here are the five steps.
5 steps right after you lose something
- 1. Write down the time, place, and route — the exact time and station where you got off, the taxi's license plate, the bus route number. Having these details dramatically improves your chances of recovery
- 2. Contact the operator right where you are — for the subway, it's the station's customer safety office; for a taxi, the number on your receipt; for a bus, the bus company; for the airport, the lost and found office
- 3. If it's a phone, card, or passport — freeze and report it first — blocking secondary damage matters more than finding the item itself
- 4. If a day has passed, go to the relevant lost and found center — for the subway, it's the center for your line; for a taxi, call 120
- 5. If a week has passed, go to Lost112 — by this point, most items have been handed over to the police
What is Lost112 and how do I use it?
Lost112 is the national lost and found portal run by the National Police Agency under the Lost Articles Act. The website is lost112.go.kr, and it aggregates found-item data from police stations, subway operators, bus companies, airports, and other agencies. You can search for found items without signing up, but you’ll need an account if you want to file a lost item report (registering that you’ve lost something).
To search, go to the Found Items Search in the top menu and set your filters: item type · found region · found location · date range. On your phone, you can run the same search through the “Police Lost112” app.
When Lost112 comes up empty — broaden your search
- Search by district, not just "subway" — you never know which category the person who registered it chose
- Set the date range to 2–3 weeks after the loss, not the loss date itself — items get registered late because agencies hold them first
- Use the most generic term possible for the item — it might be listed as "earphones," not "AirPods Pro 2nd Gen"
- For wallets and bags, search by color — brand names are often left out of the listing
Some agencies — including Incheon Airport — direct you to the Police Civil Service 24 (minwon24.police.go.kr) found items search instead of Lost112. It’s safest to check both.
Lost it on the Seoul subway?
If you just got off, the answer isn’t the lost and found center — it’s the nearest station’s customer safety office. Tell them which direction the train was heading, what time you got off, and which car you were in. They’ll radio ahead to the next station. During rush hour, though, getting staff into a packed train car to search can be difficult.
If it’s been more than a day, head to the lost and found center for your line. Seoul Metro operates 5 centers covering Lines 1 through 9.
🚇 Seoul Metro Lost and Found Centers — all 5 locations (Weekdays 09:00–18:00 · Closed weekends & public holidays)
| Line | Center | Location | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lines 1·2 | City Hall Lost and Found Center | City Hall Station | 02-6110-1122 |
| Lines 3·4 | Chungmuro Lost and Found Center | Chungmuro Station | 02-6110-3344 |
| Lines 5·8 | Wangsimni Lost and Found Center | Wangsimni Station | 02-6311-6765, 6768 |
| Lines 6·7 | Taereung Lost and Found Center | Taereung Station | 02-6311-6766, 6767 |
| Line 9 (Eonju–Jungangbohun Hospital) | Sports Complex Lost and Found Center | Line 9 Sports Complex Station | 02-2656-0787 |
📍 Open in Naver Map (City Hall Lost and Found Center)
📍 Open in Naver Map (Chungmuro Lost and Found Center)
Two things to watch out for: the Gaehwa–Sinnonhyeon section of Line 9 (Phase 1) is operated by a separate company, not Seoul Metro, and for Lines 1, 3, and 4 — which Korail co-operates on sections extending into the greater Seoul area (toward Incheon, Suwon, etc.) — items may end up at a Korail lost and found center instead.
How subway lost items move through the system
📦 The journey of a lost item — and how much time you have at each stage
| Stage | Where it is | Holding period | What to do at this stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Station customer safety office | Same day – next day | Call or visit immediately. This is your best chance of getting it back |
| 2 | Line-specific lost and found center | Within 7 days | Call first (weekdays 09:00–18:00), then visit |
| 3 | Local police station | 6-month notice + 3 months | Search Lost112 to find which station is holding it |
| 4 | National treasury | — | No longer recoverable |
Food items follow different rules
Opened food is discarded the same day. Even unopened items that could spoil — lunch boxes, fresh produce, fruit, gimbap, kimchi, baked goods — are disposed of the same day. Only shelf-stable items like canned goods are kept and transferred like regular lost property. On the flip side, items considered high-value by social standards are transferred to the police immediately, regardless of type.
Left it in a taxi?
Your payment method is the single biggest factor in whether you’ll get your stuff back. Paid in cash and didn’t grab a receipt? There’s basically no way to identify the vehicle. Try the three paths below, from top to bottom.
🚕 3 ways to recover items left in a taxi (try them in this order)
| Situation | What to do | How long it takes |
|---|---|---|
| You have a card payment receipt | Call the taxi company or driver number printed on the receipt directly | Minutes to hours |
| You hailed it through an app (Kakao T, etc.) | App → Ride History → Select the trip → Contact driver. If you can’t reach them, call Kakao T customer service at 1644-3326 (weekdays 09:00–18:00) | Same day |
| You only know the license plate | Call Seoul Dasan Call Center at 120 → they’ll give you the contact info for the taxi company’s lost and found | Same day |
| You have no information at all | Search the Seoul Integrated Public Transit Lost and Found Center and Lost112 to see if your item has been registered | Days to weeks |
Before you ride a Seoul taxi
- Pay by card or app whenever possible — your receipt and ride history are the only clues that can identify the car
- Do a quick hand-sweep of the back seat before you get out — a black phone on a dark seat is practically invisible
- Snap a photo of the license plate the moment you get in — the number is written on the driver's credential plate on the dashboard
Lost it on a bus?
When something is found on a bus, the driver typically drops it off at the bus depot or the transport company office after completing their route. If you know the bus route number, the time you boarded, and your stop, calling the bus company directly is the fastest route. Don’t know the company’s number? Call 120 with the route number and they’ll point you to the right place. After that, found items get registered with the Seoul Integrated Public Transit Lost and Found Center (news.seoul.go.kr/traffic/find) and Lost112.
Lost it at the airport, on the Airport Railroad, or KTX?
Each agency has a completely separate lost and found desk. Incheon Airport has different lost and found offices for each terminal, and items left on the plane itself are handled by the airline — not the airport.
✈️ Lost and found contacts by agency
| Where you lost it | Who handles it | Contact & hours |
|---|---|---|
| Incheon Airport Terminal 1 | T1 Lost and Found Office (B1) | 032-741-3110 / 3114 · 07:00–21:30, open all year |
| Incheon Airport Terminal 2 | T2 Lost and Found Office (2F, inside the Government Complex) | 032-741-8988 / 8989 · 07:00–21:30, open all year |
| On the plane (Korean Air) | Korean Air Lost and Found | icnbaginfo@koreanair.com |
| On the plane (Asiana Airlines) | Asiana Lost and Found | 032-744-2205 |
| Duty-free purchase (newly bought) | Customs Traveler Clearance | T1 032-722-4425 · T2 032-723-5122 |
| Airport Railroad | Airport Railroad Customer Center | 032-745-7777 |
| Airport limousine bus | Airport Limousine / KAL Limousine | 032-743-7607 / 02-2667-0386 |
| KTX or regular train | Korail Lost and Found Center | 1544-7788 (ARS option 5 → 1) · Weekdays 09:00–18:00 |
Phones, passports, and cards follow different rules
For these three, the priority isn’t “finding” — it’s “blocking.” It’s not the item itself that’s the problem; it’s everything inside it.
Item-specific procedures
- Mobile phone — First, request a loss suspension from your carrier. Then search the Handphone Find Center (1566-4300 · handphone.or.kr). At Incheon Airport, phones, tablets, and smartwatches are held for one month before being transferred to this center.
- Credit or debit card — Report it lost to your card issuer immediately. For cards issued outside Korea, call the international number on the back of the card.
- Foreign passport — Held for one month from the date found, then transferred to your country's embassy. The correct order is: file a police report first (get a police report copy), then contact your embassy.
- Korean passport — Items found at Incheon Airport are transferred the next day to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs passport office. Inquiries: Consular Call Center 02-3210-0404.
- Alien Registration Card (ARC) — You'll need to apply for a reissue at the Immigration Office.
If you’re struggling with Korean, call the Korea Travel Helpline at 1330 (24/7, multilingual). They can provide interpretation support while you speak with any of the agencies above.
You found your item — now how do you get it back?
No ID, no pickup. Identity verification is mandatory, and having someone else pick it up for you requires prior arrangement.
🪪 What you need for each pickup method (based on Incheon Airport Lost and Found)
| Method | What you need | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pick up in person | Your ID, lost item reference number | Passport, driver’s license, or ARC all accepted |
| Someone else picks it up | Copy of your ID, their ID, reference number | May be refused if you didn’t give the agent’s details in advance |
| Courier delivery (cash on delivery) | Copy of your ID, reference number, shipping form | Starts at 7,000 KRW minimum. Not available for valuables, cash, or fragile items |
If you’ve already left Korea, courier delivery is essentially your only option. International shipping availability varies by agency, so call or email first to confirm.
Do I have to pay the finder a reward?
Under the Lost Articles Act, the person retrieving their lost item must pay the finder a reward of 5–20% of the item’s value. However, public agencies — national and local government bodies — cannot claim a reward. Items turned in by subway station staff or taxi drivers through official company procedures are usually treated the same way.
If the owner never shows up, 6 months after the public notice date, the finder gains ownership. If even the finder doesn’t claim it within 3 months after that, the item goes to the national treasury. That’s why the police holding period maxes out at 9 months.
Sources
- National Police Agency Lost and Found Portal LOST112 — lost112.go.kr
- Seoul Metro Lost and Found Center Guide (locations, phone numbers, hours, procedures, food item policy) — seoulmetro.co.kr
- Incheon International Airport Lost and Found (terminal-specific hours, pickup methods, agency contacts) — airport.kr
- Seoul Metropolitan Government Integrated Public Transit Lost and Found Center — news.seoul.go.kr/traffic/find
- Seoul Metro 2025 lost item statistics (167,738 total · 36,387 wallets) — 2026 press release
- Lost Articles Act Article 4 (reward), Civil Act Article 253 (acquisition of ownership)