Korea Airport Lost Property Overseas Delivery – Express Isn't Your Only Option

If you left something at a Korean airport and have already flown home, two things decide how fast and how cheaply you get it back: which desk is holding it, and how it travels to you. The desk numbers are in the table below. For the journey home there is more than one route — and the express courier is not the only one.

Express isn't your only option

Several Korean airports publish an overseas delivery service for lost property. The official route uses an international express courier. EMS through an authorized agent is another option. Both are legitimate; they differ mainly in cost and in who does the paperwork.

Once an item has been collected in person — by you, or by someone you have authorised in writing — it is an ordinary parcel and can go by Korea Post EMS, which publishes its rates by country and weight. An example, from published rate tables checked on 6 October 2026:

• 1 kg to the United States — Korea Post EMS: ₩46,000. Published retail international express rates: ₩160,800–177,100, before the fuel surcharge.

For small items, express often costs three to five times what EMS does. The full side-by-side table is in what it costs to ship a lost item from Korea.

First, check which desk has it

Three organisations hold lost property at a Korean airport, and which one has your item decides who you call:

• On the plane (seat pocket, overhead bin) → the airline, not the airport. See items left on a plane.
• In the terminal (gate, restroom, check-in, food court) → that airport's Lost & Found desk.
• Handed in and unclaimed → the police, where it appears in Police Minwon24 (formerly LOST112). How to search it is in the police lost & found guide.

Each airport's desk, from our directory, with the date each detail was checked against the airport's own page:

Incheon is run separately from the other airports and has its own rules — see the Incheon Airport lost and found guide. Detailed guides: Gimpo, Gimhae (Busan), Jeju.

How Lost and Found Korea gets it to you

1. Tell us online which airport has the item, and roughly what it is.
2. We prepare the authorization letter in Korean and English. You sign it and add a copy of your ID.
3. You send one short email to the airport's Lost & Found desk, so they know we are collecting for you. We give you the text to send.
4. We collect the item in person and ship it to you by EMS at actual cost. Phones, laptops and anything else with a lithium battery go by EMS Premium.

You always see the shipping cost before anything is sent.

What it costs

• Airport pickup: $45 / ₩40,000 at every airport.
• Shipping: the actual EMS cost, passed on without a markup.
• 10% off the pickup fee when you pay in advance.
• Jeju: a distance surcharge of $40 / ₩59,000 applies.

How long an airport keeps it

General found items run to a statutory six months, plus a further period in which the finder may claim ownership, before they pass to the state. Documents and devices leave the airport much sooner, and each airport sets its own periods — at Incheon, for example, a foreign passport goes to the holder's embassy and a phone to the national handset call centre after one month.

A "not found" answer is not final

Items do not stay at the airport. Depending on what it is and how long it has been, yours may already have moved to the airport police, to Customs, to an embassy or to the handset call centre. When an office says they do not have it, ask where it was transferred and on what date — not only whether it is there. An item handed in today may not be logged or searchable for several days, so a single early "no" proves very little.

If Korean is the barrier

1330 is Korea's tourist help line, run by the Korea Tourism Organization. It is free, answers 24 hours a day, and interprets in English, Japanese, Chinese and other languages — including on a three-way call with an airport Lost & Found desk, an airline or a police station. It does not hold items itself.

Frequently asked questions

What do I need to do?

Send us a request online, sign the authorization letter we prepare and add a copy of your ID, then send the airport's Lost & Found desk the short email we draft for you. We do the rest.

Can I collect it myself?

Yes. If you are still in Korea, you can collect it in person at the desk with your ID during its opening hours. You can also authorise anyone you trust to collect it with a signed letter and their own ID.

How long does it take?

Collection depends on the desk confirming the item and on its opening hours; we tell you the date before we go. EMS then usually takes about one to two weeks, depending on the country and its customs.

What about phones and batteries?

Phones, laptops, cameras and other items with a lithium battery go by EMS Premium. Loose power banks often cannot be shipped at all, and airlines usually dispose of power banks found on board.

I left it at the security checkpoint. Is that different?

Items left after departure security may in some cases be treated as imports by customs when someone else collects them. If that applies to yours, we'll tell you before shipping. Desk details: our directory, each checked against the airport's own page on the date shown. Shipping rates: Korea Post 2026 EMS rate table and published retail international express rate guides, read on 6 October 2026. Prices change — we confirm the actual cost before anything is sent.