Lost something at a Korean department store or mall?

Malls and department stores in Korea keep found items at a central customer service center (고객센터) — not the individual shop. Head there or call.

Step 1: Contact the store's customer service center

Ask the information desk or customer service center whether your item was handed in. Give the date, the area of the store, and a clear description. Major operators:

• Lotte, Shinsegae, Hyundai department stores — each branch has a customer service center.
• Starfield COEX Mall — see COEX Mall lost and found.

Contacts are in the shopping directory.

Step 2: If it's not there, check Police Minwon24 (formerly LOST112)

If the item was turned in to police, it appears on Police Minwon24 (formerly LOST112) at minwon24.police.go.kr, searchable by date, area, and item type.

Tips

Report the same day — retail lost & found turns over quickly. Bring ID when you collect valuables.

If it has reached the police

An item a store hands on appears in Police Minwon24 (formerly LOST112) at minwon24.police.go.kr. How to search it is in the police lost & found guide.

Two things are true wherever the item came from. Nothing appears there for days after the handover, so an early search proves little and is not a reason to stop looking. And the record shows where the item was handed in — the office, depot or station that received it — not where you lost it, so keep the region wide and lead with item type and date.

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 offers interpretation in English, Japanese, Chinese and other languages.

It is not a lost & found office — it holds no items and keeps no database. What it does is interpret, including on a three-way call with a store's customer service desk or a police station, and explain what a Korean-language page or notice actually says.

If the item is located but you cannot collect it in person — you have left Korea, or the store is hours away — it can be released to someone acting for you with written authorization and their own ID, and shipping abroad is arranged by whoever collects it: here's what that takes.