Fair Trade Commission Investigates KakaoT for Alleged Unfair Practices in 'Franchise Taxi Call Steering'

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The Fair Trade Commission is investigating unfair practices by Kakao Mobility through the KakaoT application.

On the 10th, Kim Jaeshin, Vice Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, stated at the academic forum on "Fairness, Transparency, and Competition Issues of Search Algorithms," jointly hosted by the Fair Trade Commission and the Korean Industrial Organization Society, "We have received reports that major domestic mobility platforms discriminated against non-affiliated taxis and concentrated dispatches to affiliated taxis, and related investigations are underway."

The "major domestic mobility platform" mentioned by Vice Chairman Kim refers to Kakao Mobility. Last year, taxi organizations filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission alleging that Kakao Mobility engaged in unfair practices by concentrating 'calls (passenger requests)' to Kakao-affiliated taxis.

After receiving the complaint, the Fair Trade Commission has been conducting comprehensive investigations, including on-site inspections at KM Solution, a subsidiary of Kakao Mobility, earlier this year. The Fair Trade Commission's assessment is that Kakao Mobility's 'call concentration' in the taxi-hailing market, which it dominates, may constitute a violation of the Fair Trade Act due to abuse of market dominance and abuse of transaction status.

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