Nationwide Sprint of 'KakaoT'... 'Tada' Still in the Fog

KakaoT Fleet Surpasses 2,200 Vehicles
Pilot Service Launched in Daejeon Following Seoul, Daegu, and Seongnam
Special Crew Recruitment Amid Growing Demand
Tada, CEO Lee Jae-woong's Trial and Upcoming Temporary National Assembly Session

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] Kakao Mobility (Kakao T) has increased its vehicle fleet to around 2,200 units and is working to secure additional drivers. Following the acquisition of about 1,700 vehicles by the end of last year, it added approximately 500 more within a month of the new year, gradually building the scale of its 'taxi group.' While Tada has been stalled in the National Assembly, Kakao Mobility is expanding its business nationwide and is being evaluated as strengthening its mobility competitiveness.

◆ Operating around 2,200 vehicles... Taxi Group Kakao = According to the mobility industry on the 5th, to expand the franchise taxi service 'Kakao T Blue' (formerly Weigo Blue) nationwide, the number of operating taxis was increased from about 1,600 at the end of last year to around 2,100. Earlier, on the 3rd, a pilot service started in Daejeon with about 500 vehicles. Considering that the average number of vehicles operated per taxi corporation in Seoul is 50 to 100, Kakao T Blue's 2,100 vehicles represent the largest corporate taxi scale in Korea.

Kakao T has been expanding its service areas since March last year, starting with Seoul (about 400 vehicles), then Daegu (about 1,000 vehicles), and Seongnam (about 200 vehicles). A Kakao T official stated, "To enter a service area, we need to carefully review the local taxi industry and transportation, and we plan to add more service areas besides Daejeon." Unlike Tada, Kakao T purchased taxi licenses, avoiding conflicts with the taxi industry. So far, it has acquired nine taxi corporations and holds 892 taxi licenses.

Kakao T is also accelerating its large van taxi service competing with Tada. Since December 11 last year, it has been running a pilot operation of the large van taxi service 'Kakao T Venti' in Seoul, with about 100 vehicles in operation. Through the pilot service, it plans to improve technical stability for the time being and secure service quality by collecting feedback from drivers and users. Industry insiders expect Kakao T Venti to expand its service area nationwide from Seoul, similar to Kakao T Blue. In this case, there is a high possibility of a paradigm shift in the large van call service market, which Tada had dominated. Since Kakao T Venti operates with secured taxi licenses, it is free from illegal controversies even if the amendment to the Passenger Transport Service Act, currently pending in the National Assembly, is passed.

As demand for Kakao T Blue and Venti services rapidly increases, Kakao T recently launched a special recruitment for Kakao T Crew (drivers). The drivers hired this time will belong to taxi corporations acquired by Kakao T or those affiliated with Kakao T and will operate Kakao T Blue and Venti. Industry insiders estimate that the number of drivers in Kakao T Crew exceeds 2,200. A Kakao T official explained, "There are limits to recruiting drivers through general taxi corporations, so we are conducting special recruitment under the Kakao T brand."

◆ Tada in uncertainty due to trial delays and temporary National Assembly = On the other hand, Tada is facing uncertainty due to the delayed trial of CEO Lee Jae-woong and the opening of the temporary National Assembly in February. The prosecution judged Tada as illegal last October and sent CEO Lee to trial. The Seoul Central District Court recently postponed the final hearing for CEO Lee from the original date of January 29 to February 10. Accordingly, the first trial verdict is also expected to be delayed. Additionally, with the ruling and opposition parties agreeing to open the temporary National Assembly in February, the possibility of the Passenger Transport Service Act amendment passing the plenary session has increased. The amendment was not submitted for discussion at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on January 9, delaying the discussion. However, some speculate that it will be difficult to reach a conclusion easily due to fierce industry debates over the amendment ahead of the general election.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.