At the Agreement Ceremony Attended by Four Taxi Organizations
Commitment to Fairness in Call Platforms
Promise to Prepare Support Measures Including Fares
Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended and spoke at the policy agreement ceremony for the development of the individual taxi transportation business held at the National Individual Taxi Mutual Aid Association in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 16th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, met with taxi industry workers on the 16th and said, "Although it is difficult to fully recognize taxis as public transportation, it is necessary to consider them as quasi-public transportation."
On the morning of the same day, Lee held consecutive policy agreement ceremonies with the Federation of Private Taxi Transport Business Associations and four taxi organizations at the National Private Taxi Mutual Aid Association in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. He said, "Taxis practically perform a significant role in public transportation but have been somewhat neglected."
He added, "In reality, it is impossible to fully recognize taxis as 100% equivalent to buses or subways, but it is necessary to acknowledge their public contribution and provide corresponding support within a reasonable scope as quasi-public transportation." He also mentioned, "When I was in Seongnam, the biggest complaint I heard was to allow taxis to use bus-only lanes. Although national consensus is needed, fundamentally taxis are public transportation, so we are considering the possibility." He further stated, "If it does not cause major obstacles, there is no need to block it, especially excluding peak congestion hours, and there are reasonable measures to consider."
Regarding the taxi call platforms, which taxi workers described as "Kakao's unfair practices," Lee said, "I want to eliminate Kakao platform's unfair practices," and added, "It is appropriate for the public sector to be responsible for nationwide call apps." He explained, "Platform companies should only operate platforms, but these days they pick the successful ones and operate them directly. This is unfair competition," and added, "I suspect that taxis are doing the same, managing direct control companies (for calls)." He emphasized, "Such unfairness benefits a few but harms the majority of ordinary people. While respecting the results of innovation, if it is not innovation but monopoly tyranny, it should be restrained."
Regarding the demand for taxi fare increases, he said, "It is possible as it falls under the authority of local metropolitan governments, but there are concerns. We need to consider whether raising fares is unilaterally advantageous and whether there are benefits for customers." He added, "I cannot manage all taxi fares, but I am considering implementing a transfer system comparable to that of buses."
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