[Featured Stock] Socar Rises Over 7% Following Former CEO Lee Jae-woong's Acquittal in Second Trial

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Myunghwan] Socar is showing strength in the market on the morning of the 30th. This appears to be due to former Socar CEO Lee Jae-woong receiving a not guilty verdict yesterday in the Passenger Transport Service Act (Passenger Transport Act) case.

As of 9:39 AM today, Socar is trading at 16,650 KRW, up 7.07% (1,000 KRW) from the previous trading day.

This is interpreted as the effect of the former and current executives of the ride-hailing service 'Tada,' including former CEO Lee, receiving a not guilty verdict in the second trial yesterday. Tada had previously been embroiled in controversy over 'illegal call taxi operations.'

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 1-1 (Presiding Judges Jang Chan, Maeng Hyun-moo, Kim Hyung-jak) on the 29th acquitted former CEO Lee and Park Jae-wook, CEO of VCNC, a subsidiary of Socar and operator of Tada, of charges of violating the Passenger Transport Service Act, just as in the first trial.

The court stated, "Tada cannot be considered to have substantially operated a passenger transport business simply because it appears similar to Kakao Taxi and others," and "It has been established that car rental companies legally rent cars together with drivers, and Tada merely applied communication technology to this service." This judgment recognized the claims of former CEO Lee and CEO Park, consistent with the first trial's decision.