Taxi 4 Groups "Kakao Must Stop Abusing Monopoly Position"

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] The taxi industry has opposed Kakao Mobility's policy to prevent affiliated taxis from other companies from accepting free KakaoT calls and operating, accusing it of "abusing its monopolistic market dominance."

The four taxi organizations (National Taxi Labor Union Federation, National Democratic Taxi Labor Union, National Private Taxi Transport Business Association Federation, and National Taxi Transport Business Association Federation) issued a statement on the 16th, criticizing Kakao by saying, "We question whether Kakao, which is moving solely to maximize its profits while completely ignoring the public goods nature of the taxi industry, has any sense of basic corporate ethics."

Earlier, Kakao Mobility proposed partnerships to major domestic affiliated taxi operators such as Tada, Uber, and KST Mobility (Macaron Taxi). The proposal stated that affiliated taxis of each company must form partnerships and pay commissions to receive general calls generated from the 'KakaoT' calling app.

Until now, when passengers called taxis via KakaoT, there were cases where affiliated taxis from other companies, not KakaoT Blue, would occasionally arrive. Although partnerships were made with other brands, this phenomenon occurred because drivers accepted free calls through the intermediary service-free 'KakaoT' app. The taxi industry has opposed Kakao Mobility's policy to stop this phenomenon.

The taxi industry expressed serious suspicion, saying, "We strongly suspect that Kakao Mobility is preparing in advance to impose call commissions even on general member Kakao taxis that are not affiliated," and pointed out, "Considering past behavior, it is a reasonable suspicion that Kakao's actions will not be limited to affiliated taxis."

They stated, "We will never overlook Kakao's behavior," and added, "Just like during the past carpool controversy, the entire taxi industry will unite and consider all means, including refusing Kakao taxi calls."

The taxi industry also urged, "Before such a situation occurs, Kakao Mobility should return to its original intention and faithfully fulfill its role as a passenger transport platform operator to contribute to the development of domestic passenger transport."

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