Prosecution Seeks 1-Year Prison Sentence Again in Appeal Trial for Former Socar CEO Lee Jae-woong

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution has once again sought prison sentences for the current and former executives of Tada, a vehicle call service acquitted in the first trial amid controversy over 'illegal call taxis.'

On the 8th, at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 1-1 (Presiding Judges Kim Jae-young, Song Hye-young, Jo Jung-rae), the prosecution requested a one-year prison sentence in the appeal trial of former Socar CEO Lee Jae-woong. This is the same sentence the prosecution sought in the first trial. The prosecution also requested a one-year prison sentence for current CEO Park Jae-wook, who was indicted together. Additionally, a fine of 20 million won was sought for the corporate entities Socar and VCNC.

The prosecution stated, "We ask the court to correct the factual error of the lower court acquitting the defendants and to recognize their guilt."

Tada is a service that allows users to call an 11-passenger van with a driver via a smartphone application. It was operated by VCNC, a subsidiary of Socar and the operator of Tada, which rented cars from Socar and then rented them out again to customers along with drivers.

The prosecution indicted former CEO Lee and others in 2019, alleging that Tada operated 'illegal call taxi services' without proper licenses.

The first trial court judged Tada as a 'rental car service based on a mobile app' and acquitted the defendants. The court reasoned that Tada users are merely rental car lessees, not 'passengers,' and therefore the punitive provisions of the Passenger Transport Service Act could not be applied to Tada.

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