Tada's Shutdown Process... Prosecution and Courts Say "Investigations and Trials Were Futile"

Court Rules "Legal Rental Cars"
Afterward, National Assembly Passes 'Passenger Transport Act Amendment'
Tada Becomes 'Illegal Call Taxi'
Issue to Be Resolved by Administration and Legislature
Misplaced into Judiciary
Some View This as a Case of 'Judicial Absolutism'

On the 5th, with the implementation of the Passenger Transport Service Act amendment, known as the Tada Ban Law, just around the corner, a 'Tada' vehicle is parked at a garage in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] "I don't understand why the investigation was conducted, nor why the trial was held."

As the amendment to the Passenger Transport Service Act, known as the 'Tada Prohibition Act,' passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 6th, voices of self-mockery have emerged within the legal community. From the start, it was a matter to be resolved through legislation in the National Assembly, but the investigative agencies and judiciary wasted unnecessary effort.

According to the legal community on the 10th, the van-hailing service Tada is now undergoing a winding-down process just one year and six months after its launch, following the passage of the amendment to the Passenger Transport Service Act, known as the Tada Prohibition Act, by both ruling and opposition parties in the National Assembly plenary session. Although the court ruled last month that Tada was a 'legal rental car' under current law, the National Assembly changed the law to block the service.

Tada started its service in October 2018 based on the enforcement decree of the current law, which states that 'a driver can be arranged for a person who rents an 11- to 15-passenger van.' The number of users exploded. Within less than a year of its launch, the membership exceeded one million. Unlike existing taxi-hailing services where drivers could refuse dispatch after seeing the destination, Tada automatically assigned rides forcibly, fundamentally eliminating ride refusals, which was one of the reasons for its popularity.

Lee Jae-woong (right), CEO of Socar, and Park Jae-wook, CEO of VCNC, are entering the courtroom to attend the first trial sentencing hearing disputing the illegality of 'Tada' at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

However, the Seoul Private Taxi Association filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in February last year, calling Tada an 'illegal pseudo-taxi.' The prosecution conducted an investigation for eight months and, in October last year, indicted VCNC CEO Jaewook Park and VCNC's parent company SoCar CEO Jaewoong Lee without detention on charges of violating the Passenger Transport Service Act, seeking a final decision from the court.

Last month, the court acquitted Tada, which was indicted on charges of illegal call taxi operations. The court defined Tada as a "rental car service based on a mobile application." At the end of the verdict, the court unusually urged, "It will be the learning effect and exit strategy of ongoing trials for the stakeholders in the taxi and mobility industry to work together with regulatory authorities to find constructive solutions."

However, immediately after the court ruling, the National Assembly amended the law to make Tada an illegal call taxi. The Tada Prohibition Act, introduced by Democratic Party lawmaker Honggeun Park as the main proposer, allows rental vans with drivers to be provided only when the vehicle usage time exceeds six hours for tourism purposes or when the boarding and destination points are airports or ports. This law prohibits Tada's current service method.

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

Within the legal community, there is criticism that the prosecution and judiciary should not have intervened in the first place. The legal uncertainty surrounding Tada was not a matter to be resolved through prosecution investigations or court rulings. Junseong Jang, a lawyer at How Law Firm, said, "The real issue was the Tada Prohibition Act anyway," adding, "It was a problem that should have been resolved through administrative or legislative activities, but it ended up in the judiciary, making the situation awkward."

On the other hand, some say this case reflects a recent societal tendency to try to solve all problems through the judiciary. A lawyer from Seocho-dong, who requested anonymity, said, "Since the current administration took office, the judiciary's activities have been significantly exposed to the general public through investigations of accumulated evils and subsequent trials," expressing concern that "as a side effect, a so-called judicial omnipotence society, where lawsuits and complaints abound, seems to have arrived."

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