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

Lost something at Daegu International Airport (TAE) and already flown home? The Lost & Found desk is on 053-980-5320. Below: who is holding your item, the airport's own overseas delivery route, and the other way to get it to you — collection by someone you authorise, then EMS at actual cost.

Daegu Airport Lost & Found

• Lost & Found desk: 053-980-5320 — domestic terminal, 1st floor (airport information & lost and found)
• Outside desk hours: airport operations room 053-980-5251~5252
• KAC customer service: 1661-2626

Have the date, your flight and a clear description ready. Current details are in the Daegu Airport directory entry.

On the plane or in the terminal?

• On board → your airline holds it, not the airport. See items left on a plane.
• In the terminal → the airport contact above.

The airline and the airport keep separate systems, so start with the right one.

Express isn't your only option

Daegu is one of the Korean airports that publishes a way to get a lost item to an owner overseas: Korea Airports Corporation's Lost Property Overseas Delivery Service. The official route uses an international express courier. EMS through an authorized agent is another option.

The published process has five steps:

1. You confirm with the Daegu Lost & Found desk that your item is there, and get the item type and claim number.
2. You request the overseas delivery service at the overseas delivery service desk.
3. The courier checks whether the item can be shipped internationally and gives you an estimated rate.
4. Once you accept the estimate and the customs position, you complete a lost item delivery request form and an authorization form (위임장).
5. The courier collects the item from the desk, measures and packs it, and sets the final rate.

It is a real service, published by the airport, and for plenty of people it is the right answer. The difference worth noticing is when you find out what it costs: the courier quotes after you apply. EMS rates are published in advance — for example, 1 kg to the United States costs ₩46,000 by Korea Post EMS, against published retail international express rates of ₩160,800–177,100 before the fuel surcharge (rate tables read on 6 October 2026). For small items express often costs three to five times what EMS does.

How Lost and Found Korea gets it to you

1. Tell us online that the item is at Daegu, 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 Daegu 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 see the shipping cost before anything is sent.

What it costs at Daegu

• Airport pickup: $45 / ₩40,000.
• Shipping: the actual EMS cost, passed on without a markup.
• 10% off the pickup fee when you pay in advance.

How long items are kept

Found items follow Korea's Lost Property Act — held for the statutory period, then transferred to the police and, if still unclaimed, to the state. Anything carrying personal information or real value — a passport, a wallet, a phone — moves to the police sooner. Once it has moved, the search moves with it: Police Minwon24 (formerly LOST112), covered in how to search Police Minwon24.

A "not found" answer is not final

Items do not stay put. Yours may already have moved to the airport police, to Customs, to an embassy or to the national handset call centre. When an office says it does not have your item, ask where it was transferred and on what date — and remember an item handed in today may not be searchable for several days.

If Korean is the barrier

1330 is Korea's tourist help line, run by the Korea Tourism Organization: free, 24 hours, interpreting in English, Japanese, Chinese and other languages — including on a three-way call with the Lost & Found desk. 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 Daegu 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, collect it at the desk with your ID during its opening hours, or authorise someone you trust 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.

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, 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. Part of the Korean airports lost property guide.