Video of Benz owner goes viral as he refuses to pay replacement driver because of body odor

By KTimes

A video of a substitute driver repeatedly apologizing after being insulted by a Mercedes owner who refused to pay the fare due to alleged body odor has gone viral online.

On Thursday, a post titled “Mercedes owner refuses to pay driver because he stinks” was shared in an online community, along with a video recording the incident.

The person who posted the video, identified as Mr. A, described how a driver was denied the 25,000 won ($18) fee in an underground parking lot last night (October 2) because of the car owner's claim , the driver smelled.

The video shows a man believed to be the owner of a Mercedes confronting a driver dressed in white and asking, “Why should I pay 25,000 won to someone who lacks basic decency?”

The visibly shaken driver sniffs his own clothes and repeatedly apologizes with his head bowed.

The situation escalates when the car owner calls the driving service and says in a loud voice: “Are homeless people going to be drivers now? My car stinks of that man’s smell.”

He then instructs the service not to charge his card the fee. The driver continues to sniff his clothes and repeatedly apologizes, saying, “I’m sorry.”

The Mercedes owner continues to insult the driver and asks: “How can you not know that you smell?” To which the driver replies: “I admit it, I smell” and apologizes again.

The original poster expressed sympathy for the driver, saying: “It was heartbreaking to see the driver sniffing his own clothes. He kept apologizing and it was clear that he was afraid that the car owner would report him and prevent him from getting other jobs as a driver.”

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, insults a replacement driver even after calling the driver to complain, citing the driver's body odor as the reason. Taken from an online community

The post quickly gained traction, reaching over 125,000 views in just one day. The video has since spread to other online communities.

The incident sparked a heated debate, with hundreds of comments received.

Most users expressed their anger and sympathy for the driver, with comments such as “Watching the video made me angry. That poor driver” and “I hope the driver wasn’t too hurt by this.”

Some, however, sympathized with the car owner and asked, “How bad must the smell have been?” I've had similar experiences.” Others countered this by arguing, “If the smell was that bad, he should have sent the driver away before driving. Refusal to pay after reaching your goal is unacceptable.”

This article from Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by generative AI and published by The Korea Times.