Prosecutors Conduct Consecutive Raids on Kakao and Kamo for Alleged Fair Trade Act Violation in 'Call Steering' Case

The prosecution has conducted consecutive days of raids on Kakao and Kakao Mobility (Kamo), who are suspected of abusing their power by 'blocking calls and favoring certain drivers' against competing franchise taxi operators.

According to the legal community on the 6th, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office Financial Investigation Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Jang Daegyu) is conducting a second day of raids on Kakao headquarters and Kamo offices, following the previous day, on suspicion of violating the Fair Trade Act.

This prosecution investigation follows the Fair Trade Commission's (FTC) filing of a complaint against Kakao Mobility last month on the 2nd. Kakao and Kamo are accused of funneling taxi calls through the KakaoT Blue platform, which exclusively provides calls to affiliated franchise drivers, thereby favoring them and blocking competing franchise taxi operators.

The prosecution is also reportedly examining whether Kakao's management was aware of or involved in this process.

The FTC imposed corrective orders and a fine of 72.4 billion KRW on Kakao Mobility for violating the Fair Trade Act. Additionally, a fine of 27.12 billion KRW was imposed for the call-favoring allegations.