A video posted to an online community shows a car owner refusing to pay a substitute driver, citing the driver's body odor as the reason, Thursday. Captured from an online community
A video of a substitute driver repeatedly apologizing after being insulted by a Mercedes owner, who refused to pay the driving fee due to a supposed body odor, has gone viral online.
A post titled “Mercedes Owner Refuses to Pay Driver, Saying He Smells” was shared on an online community on Thursday, accompanied by a video capturing the incident.
The person who posted the video, identified as Mr. A, described how the previous night (Oct. 2) in an underground parking lot, a driver was denied his 25,000 won ($18 USD) fee because the car owner claimed the driver smelled.
The video shows a man, believed to be the owner of a Mercedes, confronting a driver dressed in white, asking, "Why should I pay 25,000 won to someone who lacks basic decency?"
The driver, visibly shaken, sniffs his own clothes and repeatedly apologizes, bowing his head.
The situation escalates when the car owner calls the driving service and raises his voice, saying, "Are homeless people now becoming drivers? My car reeks of this man's smell."
He then instructs the service not to charge his card for the fee. The driver continues to sniff his clothes and repeatedly apologizes, saying, "I'm sorry."
The Mercedes owner continues to berate the driver, asking, "How can you not know you smell?" To which the driver responds, "I admit it, I smell," and once again apologizes.
The original poster expressed sympathy for the driver, saying, "It was heartbreaking to watch the driver sniff his own clothes. He kept apologizing, and it was clear he was anxious that the car owner would report him and prevent him from getting other driving jobs."
He also revealed that the car owner did not pay the fee, but a bystander who witnessed the incident transferred the money to the driver instead. "I hope the owner offers the driver a proper apology," he said.
A car owner, circled in red on the left, berates a substitute driver even after making a complaint call to the driving service, citing the driver's body odor as the reason. Captured from an online community
The post quickly gained traction, garnering over 125,000 views in just one day, and the video has since spread to other online communities.
The incident has sparked a heated debate, with hundreds of comments pouring in.
Most users expressed anger and sympathy for the driver, with comments like, "Watching the video made me furious. That poor driver," and "I hope the driver wasn't too hurt by this."
Some, however, sympathized with the car owner, asking, "How bad must the smell have been? I've had similar experiences." Others countered this by arguing, "If the smell was so bad, he should have sent the driver away before the ride. Refusing to pay after reaching his destination is unacceptable."
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.