"Infringement of Self-Determination Rights"... Constitutional Court Ruling on Constitutional Complaint Against Passenger Transport Act Banning 'Tada'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Constitutional Court is set to rule on the constitutionality of the current law that effectively bans the ride-sharing platform 'Tada' service.

On the 24th, the Constitutional Court will deliver a judgment on a constitutional complaint challenging the amended Passenger Transport Service Act, which restricts the purpose and usage time of van rental services, claiming it infringes on the freedom to work.

Tada is a 'van rental' service that rents out vans and also arranges drivers for the vans.

The Passenger Transport Service Act, amended last year, stipulates that when renting 11- to 15-passenger vehicles for tourism purposes, drivers can only be arranged if the rental period is six hours or longer, or if the rental or return location is an airport or port.

However, VCNC, the operator of Tada, ceased operations and filed a constitutional complaint after the amended Passenger Transport Service Act passed the National Assembly, making the Tada service virtually impossible. Their argument is that the restrictions limiting usage to 'tourism purposes' and to cases where 'the rental period is six hours or longer, or the rental or return location is an airport or port' violate the Constitution.

In particular, they stated that "the amended law restricts users' choice of transportation, infringing on the right to self-determination as part of the pursuit of happiness under Article 10 of the Constitution," and that "the right to arrange a driver is unreasonably and discriminatively limited based on travel purpose, time, and location, violating the right to equality." They also argued that the amendment infringes on corporate freedom and property rights, as well as the freedom to work of Tada drivers and employees of companies like Socar.

Legal circles expect that the Constitutional Court's ruling will influence the trials of former Socar CEO Lee Jae-woong and VCNC CEO Park Jae-wook, who were prosecuted for allegedly operating Tada illegally under the pre-amendment law. The appeal trial verdict for them, who were acquitted in the first trial, is scheduled for August 19.

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