"'Tada Ban Law' Passes Judiciary Committee... Lee Jae-woong Says 'Government and National Assembly Are Dead' (Update)"

On the 29th, a 'Tada' van operating in Seoul city./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] The amendment to the Passenger Transport Service Act, known as the 'Tada Prohibition Act,' passed the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 4th.

Article 34, Paragraph 2 of the amendment stipulates that for renting 11- to 15-seat vehicles for tourism purposes, the operator can only arrange drivers if the vehicle is used for more than 6 hours or if the rental and return locations are airports or ports. Accordingly, if the amendment passes the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 5th, 'Tada Basic' will become illegal after a grace period of 1 year and 6 months.

The amendment passed by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on this day reflected the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's revision. The Ministry added a clause to Article 49, Paragraph 2, which defines types of platform transportation businesses, stating "including cases where a vehicle for rental business is leased from a car rental business operator," thereby opening the door for 'rental car' type businesses. However, Tada must pay a contribution and obtain a platform transportation business permit to operate under the current method.

With the passage of the amendment, mobility companies have breathed a sigh of relief. Seven mobility companies excluding Tada?Kakao Mobility, KST Mobility, Buxi, Buxi Busan, Konatus, WeMobility, and T1 Mobility?have urged the passage, stating that the amendment "is a regulatory relaxation measure that enhances the competitiveness of taxis and provides a minimum business basis for new types of mobility businesses operating in uncertain areas." These companies plan to grow brand taxis by combining with existing taxis or to realize brokerage fees if a registration system for platforms mediating transportation businesses is introduced.

Tada opposed the passage of the bill. Lee Jae-woong, CEO of Socar, stated on his Facebook in the afternoon, "The government and National Assembly that banned innovation are dead," and argued, "The government and National Assembly, who should stand on the side of the future and the people, are shutting down a service responsible for the movement of 1.7 million people." He added, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the National Assembly have taken away the people's right to choose and turned back time," calling the situation "devastating."

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