[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has cracked down on a large number of individuals who operated illegal call taxis (so-called "colttwigi") using private passenger cars or rental cars, as well as operators who conducted illegal freight transportation using private trucks.
The Gyeonggi Province Fair Special Judicial Police Unit announced on the 27th that through a planned investigation from September to December this year, they identified 28 illegal call taxi business owners and drivers, and 2 illegal freight transport vehicle owners, sending 6 to the prosecution and currently investigating 24 others.
Among them, upon reviewing the criminal records of the illegal call taxi suspects, the province expressed concern that passengers were exposed to danger as multiple serious crime records were confirmed, including 11 cases of robbery and theft, 15 cases of assault and violence, and 24 cases of drunk or unlicensed driving.
Mr. A, along with 18 drivers, disguised themselves as a designated driver company, distributed promotional materials to stores around Gwangju City, and operated call taxi services before being caught.
Mr. A arranged illegal call taxi operations for the drivers using walkie-talkies he provided and collected a daily quota of 18,000 won per driver as payment.
It was investigated that Mr. A and the 18 drivers earned a total of about 70 million won in illegal profits, including approximately 60 million won in transportation fees.
The province explained that they showed meticulousness by storing contact information of about 1,000 customers and not answering calls from unknown numbers to avoid crackdowns such as mystery technique investigations or paparazzi-style enforcement.
Mr. B and 8 others were caught last year and fined but continued to operate call taxi services under the same business name and phone number, and were caught again after 4 months.
They were punished with fines or suspended sentences for a total of 22 similar offenses but were found to have repeatedly engaged in such illegal operations.
Mr. C, who has 16 criminal records including robbery, theft, violence, and fraud, was caught operating as an illegal call taxi driver while on the run with an arrest warrant issued in July this year for voice phishing fraud.
Mr. D and Mr. E were found to have used private freight trucks around Hwaseong City, charging a commission of 900 won per delivery, transporting an average of 150 to 200 illegal parcels per day.
According to the current Passenger and Freight Motor Vehicle Transport Business Act, illegal paid transportation acts are punishable by imprisonment of up to 2 years or a fine of up to 20 million won.
Kim Young-soo, head of the province’s Fair Special Judicial Police Unit, emphasized, "Call taxi drivers are not subject to operation qualification restrictions, so there is a high possibility of leading to secondary crimes, and if an accident occurs, insurance cannot cover it, so the damage is directly passed on to the passengers. We will focus our investigative capabilities for the safety of the residents."
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