Assemblyman Jo O-seop Urges Suspension of 'Kakao Mobility Unfair Paid Service'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Assemblyman Jo O-seop (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Buk-gu Gap) held a press conference on the 13th, urging the immediate suspension of Kakao Mobility's unfair paid service.

Assemblyman Jo said, "Kakao Mobility launched a 'paid membership' service on the 16th of last month, recruiting 20,000 members on a first-come, first-served basis within just four days, and is now conducting additional recruitment without a limit on the number of members," adding, "Kakao Mobility plans to provide services such as ▲map dispatch ▲booster ▲demand map ▲favorite registration and implement a flat-rate call fee of 99,000 KRW per month."

He continued, "However, this paid membership service is a downgraded version compared to the service provided to KakaoT Blue, which is directly operated by Kakao Mobility," and claimed, "It is an unfair and unreasonable service that favors calls to KakaoT Blue and affiliated taxis while prohibiting the use of apps other than its own."

He also pointed out, "Moreover, KakaoT Blue and affiliated taxis are already imposing call fees ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 KRW on passengers, effectively causing fare increases," and criticized, "Large corporations are monopolizing the taxi platform industry, proceeding with monetization and fare hikes, which harms taxi industry workers and the public."

He urged, "We must expedite the development of public taxi platform apps at the level of local governments nationwide and prepare support measures at the central government level," and insisted, "The Fair Trade Commission must thoroughly and promptly announce the results of its investigation into the allegations of call favoritism by Kakao Mobility."

Furthermore, he emphasized, "Kakao Mobility is ignoring the difficult reality of the taxi industry due to COVID-19 and is turning into a destructive invasive species by leveraging its overwhelming number of subscribers and users within a limited market size," adding, "Transportation platforms, which began based on social grand compromise, should be transformed into new models of diverse services through deregulation."