SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The taxi industry, which is opposing the introduction of ride-sharing ventures, is trying to innovate by introducing new services such as a taxi paging application and premium taxis. This month, the ‘T-One’ taxi app will launch, which will compete against similar apps from Kakao Corp. and SK Telecom Co. [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — A cabbie presumed to have set himself and his taxi on fire in another apparent suicide protest over a planned commercial ride-sharing service, died in hospital early Thursday, police said. A sedan taxi near Gwanghwamun Station in central Seoul caught fire on Wednesday night. The driver, only identified by [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — Chauffeur service drivers in South Korea are raising their voices against Kakao Corp.’s new carpooling service. The National Chauffeurs Labor Union and the National Chauffeurs Cooperative held a press conference in Seoul on Thursday, condemning Kakao for “threatening the lives of chauffeurs and taxi drivers,” and the South Korean [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee revealed Friday a proposal already offered to cab drivers for them to adopt a system similar to that used by Uber to solve their chronic business problems, as social conflict was growing over the launch of a commercial ride-sharing platform. “If you look at Uber [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Hundreds of thousands of taxi drivers gathered in Seoul on Thursday for a massive protest against commercial carpool services by Kakao Corp., calling for a state ban on “the illegal services.” There have been severe conflicts over Kakao T Carpool, a ride-sharing service by South Korea’s top mobile messaging [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Kim Kil-jun, a taxi driver for 22 years, thought his taxi-hailing app was like a business partner, something that helped him get more fares, but now he feels like the platform has turned on him and become a powerful competitor in South Korea’s growing mobility market. The app’s operator, [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean IT giant Kakao Corp. said Thursday it has decided to delay the launch of its carpool service after a taxi driver committed suicide by setting himself on fire in protest. Kakao, which operates South Korea’s most popular mobile messenger application, KakaoTalk, earlier kicked off a pilot run [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — The taxi industry announced yesterday that 100,000 taxi drivers are expected to flock to the National Assembly in Yeouido on Thursday of next week to voice opposition to the ride-sharing service launched by Kakao Mobility Corp., spurred by the self-immolation of a taxi driver surnamed Choi on December 10. Kang [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Poolus, a new carpool startup, has announced a plan to share its profits with its customers. According to the plan, Poolus will distribute “pool points” to users of its service, which can either be cashed in or exchanged for shares in the company. In addition, AI technology will be [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — A bill banning all carpool activities currently allowed during commuting hours was submitted to the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee at the National Assembly on Thursday, a move that could deepen the divide between IT companies and the taxi industry over the carpooling issue. The bill specifically seeks the [...]