Kakao Mobility "Regret Fair Trade Commission's 'Call Steering' Judgment... Plans Administrative Lawsuit"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Choi] When the Fair Trade Commission imposed a fine on Kakao Mobility for allegedly favoring calls to affiliated taxis, Kakao Mobility immediately pushed back. It expressed regret over the FTC's judgment and announced plans to file an administrative lawsuit.

On the 14th, Kakao Mobility stated regarding the FTC's review results, "The claims of some taxi operators were accepted as is, and the sanctions decision was made without properly resolving misunderstandings about the facts."

On the same day, the FTC decided to issue a corrective order and impose a provisional fine of 25.7 billion KRW on Kakao Mobility for preferential treatment practices. The FTC judged that Kakao Mobility favored affiliated taxi drivers in dispatching calls through the KakaoT app to increase the number of its affiliated taxis.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kakao Mobility emphasized that the dispatch logic was operated to enhance user convenience, not to favor affiliates. They considered the acceptance rate of dispatches with the purpose of resolving "call cherry-picking" and increasing "taxi matching probability," and argued that viewing this as discriminatory disregards user convenience.

Kakao Mobility also refuted the FTC's claim that the dispatch logic was "secretly changed." They stated that interpreting algorithm changes without notification as having a specific intent is unreasonable. Kakao Mobility said, "The algorithm is an important trade secret for platform companies, so it is difficult to understand the judgment that the series of processes were ‘secret manipulations.’"

Kakao Mobility plans to explore various measures, including filing an administrative lawsuit. They added, "Regardless of the legal procedures regarding the FTC's disposition, we will strive to enhance national mobility convenience by considering the public and various stakeholders," and "We will continue efforts to prepare for the future mobility era."