Lee Jae-woong Steps Down from Frontline Management... "Time to Entrust the Next Generation" (Comprehensive)

"Government's Narrow View of Mobility Innovation as Only Taxi Innovation Regrettable"
Socar Withdraws Planned Tada Corporate Split Scheduled for April

Lee Jae-woong, CEO of Socar. /Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] Following the passage of the Tada Prohibition Act (Amendment to the Passenger Transport Service Act), Lee Jae-woong, CEO of Socar, is stepping down from the front lines of management. The planned corporate split of Tada, scheduled for April, has been withdrawn.

On the 13th, Socar held a board meeting and appointed Park Jae-wook, Chief Operating Officer (COO), as the new CEO. Park will concurrently serve as CEO of VCNC, the operator of Tada, while Lee will step down from active management.

On the same day, Lee posted on his Facebook, "I failed to protect the jobs of Tada drivers, failed to uphold the trust of investors, and failed to keep the innovative dreams of my colleagues who worked together. The support of 1.7 million users who cheered for Tada weighs heavily on my mind, as does the encouragement from the mobility-impaired who cheered for the few Tada Assist vehicles."

He added, "My resignation will not solve the problem, but conversely, I have realized that having me here cannot solve the problem either. Now is the time to entrust problem-solving to the next generation." He also expressed, "I am sorry to the juniors who dream of innovation and to the next generation. I should have opened the way, but I am ashamed to leave without fulfilling my role."

Furthermore, he criticized, "It is regrettable that this government views mobility innovation solely as taxi innovation. Even if they cannot boldly allow mobility innovation like many other countries, attempts like Tada within the system could have been supplemented where lacking and regulated where necessary. Instead, the government chose the worst legislation to prohibit it, sending a very bad message not only to many who dream of innovation but also to investors considering investing in Korea."

He continued, "You say taxis are heavily regulated while Tada is unregulated and unfair? Then why not ease taxi regulations instead of creating laws that regulate Tada more severely than taxis and prohibit it?"

Meanwhile, Socar has decided to withdraw its plan to split Tada into an independent company. This decision follows the passage of the Tada Prohibition Act in the National Assembly on the 6th, despite the Seoul Central District Court's ruling on the 19th of last month that Tada's service was legal. The law makes it impossible for Tada to attract investment and expand its business. The 'Tada Basic' service will be temporarily suspended from April 11, but services such as 'Tada Premium,' 'Tada Air,' and 'Tada Private' will continue to operate.

Regarding this, Lee stated, "The company will cancel the split and suspend the Basic service, and somehow try to survive by joining forces again with Socar. We will unite with the goal of moving the world through mobility innovation and create change."

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