Taxi Driver Suspended for Releasing Videos of Passengers including IU

A taxi driver was sentenced for broadcasting his encounters with passengers, including IU. IU conversing with the now-suspended taxi driver. Beginning in 2009, a middle-aged taxi driver pimped his vehicle with a camera and wireless recording equipment to launch live broadcasts of his passengers.

Sep 24, 2013 02:07 PM BST

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Beginning in 2009, a middle-aged taxi driver pimped his vehicle with a camera and wireless recording equipment to launch live broadcasts of his passengers.

The driver treated his amateur setup as a mini variety show where he'd casually converse with passengers, give them advice, and have them perform songs, unaware of a camera that broadcasted the whole scenario live on the internet.

The friendly little sitcom turned into an instant hit when it so happened that one fateful day in July 2010 the next passenger that hopped into his taxi was K-pop songstress, IU.

This webisode of the "reality show" gained a massive number of viewers and brought attention to the whole ordeal.

In July 2011, the taxi driver, who remained unknown, appeared in SBS' "Dalgona" and chronicled his run-in with the singer-actress. He shared, "I didn't know it was IU who had entered the taxi and asked her to sing IU and Seulong's 'Nagging,' only then to find out my passenger was IU.  I was very surprised and felt like I had won the lottery."

IU seemed pleased with the driver's entertaining stint, and she gave him an invitation to one of her concerts and asked to join her on KBS2's "Quiz Show".

Despite the driver's stroke of luck with IU things eventually turn sour for him as two of his previous passengers filed a lawsuit against him for alleged violation to the Protection of Communications Secrets Act since he filmed he passengers without asking for due consent.

According to the complainants, "Since he asked about our jobs and marriage plans, we only replied, but he had broadcast everything without our consent.  I didn't know he was doing a live broadcast until I left the car."

In his defense, the taxi driver said, "Regardless of whether it was wrong that I didn't tell them beforehand, the content was not stored as it was a live broadcast and some parts of the content were not delivered because the internet connection got disconnected."

On September 23, a Seoul Northern District Court judge put him on probation for 2 years and issued a 6 months suspension of qualification for releasing the conversations to the public.

Despite pleading not guilty and appealing the court's decision, the taxi driver will be barred from driving his taxi in the time being.

Here's a clip of the driver's encounter with IU.

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