Tada Temporarily Suspends Operations for 1 Month... Lee Jae-woong Says "The Seed of Innovation Crushed"

Jaewoong Lee, CEO of Socar

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] Lee Jae-woong, CEO of Socar, lamented, "I have no face to show to my juniors and the next generation," after the amendment to the Passenger Transport Service Act, known as the 'Tada Ban Act,' passed the National Assembly plenary session.

On the 7th, Lee posted on his Facebook along with a notice photo stating that 'Tada Basic' will temporarily suspend its service within one month after the law is promulgated.

Lee said, "I have failed, but someone has to challenge innovation. However, with us being labeled as fraudsters and criminals, I don't know who will dare to challenge," adding, "A member of the National Assembly, who is under prosecution for defamation, not only condemned entrepreneurs in the plenary session but also disparaged his colleagues." This appears to be directed at independent lawmaker Kim Kyung-jin, who called 'Tada' a fraud during the plenary debate.

Lee stated, "During the COVID-19 economic crisis, instead of supporting the transportation industry in trouble, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport was contemplating how to crush the sprouts of innovation," and revealed, "A foreign investor who had planned to invest in Tada left a message saying it was shocking and that they would no longer invest in Korea."

He added, "I have requested the President, who called Tada an innovation, to exercise the veto power," and said, "I would appreciate it if you consider exercising the veto, but if not, please promulgate the law quickly. I cannot endure any more false hope."

Meanwhile, the Tada Ban Act was passed in the National Assembly plenary session the day before with 168 votes in favor, 8 against, and 9 abstentions. Article 34-2 of the amendment allows a business operator to arrange drivers only when renting 11- to 15-seat vehicles for tourism purposes for more than 6 hours or when the rental and return locations are airports or ports. Accordingly, 'Tada Basic' will become illegal after the 1 year and 6 months grace period.

The amendment reflects the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's revision. The Ministry added a clause to Article 49-2, which defines the types of platform transportation businesses, stating "including cases where a rental car business operator leases a vehicle for rental business use," thus opening the door for 'rent-a-car' style businesses. However, Tada must pay a contribution fee and obtain a platform transportation business license to continue operating as it currently does.

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