Here is a video posted by the Seoul Metropolitan Police. This incident happened in Eunpyeong-gu in northwestern Seoul. In the video, an old lady is seen getting on the bus. She is carrying a bag containing 25 million Korean won, which is about 21,000 USD. The money is to be paid in signing an apartment contract. Ten minutes later, she is seen getting off the bus ~ but without the bag of money! The bus left and naturally she had to call the authorities to help her search for the missing money. The police car is seen moving fast as it chases the bus. Luckily, the police recovered the bag in the bus. The old lady gets her bag of money back ~ all 25 million won.
All buses in Korea are equipped with CCTV ~ for the protection of the driver and the passengers as well. With the CCTV, it’s easier to document incidents like this one. If someone took the bag, which doesn’t usually happen in Korea, authorities would be able to trace everything with the help of the CCTV.
In case people lost things in the bus or other public transportations, it is best to report to the police. The police will then coordinate with the different agencies to search for the missing item. More often than not, the public does not touch items left in public places. I posted a video of a social experiment almost two years ago. It shows how “honest” Seoulites are ~ many don’t pick up things that are not theirs.