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Taxi driver's suicide deepens controversy over Kakao's ridesharing app

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Police officers inspect a taxi where a driver surnamed Choi set himself on fire in front of the National Assembly, Monday, in protest of Kakao Mobility's ridesharing app. Yonhap
Police officers inspect a taxi where a driver surnamed Choi set himself on fire in front of the National Assembly, Monday, in protest of Kakao Mobility's ridesharing app. Yonhap

By Lee Suh-yoon

Around 100,000 taxi drivers are expected to descend on the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, next Thursday, calling on lawmakers to ban Kakao Mobility's new ridesharing app.

This is the third such rally against the launch of the app, which started its test run last Friday. The upcoming rally will be the biggest one yet, fanned by the suicide of a taxi driver surnamed Choi who set himself on fire in front of the National Assembly on Monday in a show of protest. He died later in the day.

"To honor the deceased's wishes, we will resist Kakao's ridesharing app in full force," Lee Yang-duk, an executive member of the Korea Taxi Union (KTU), told The Korea Times, Tuesday.

The group said the drivers would use about 10,000 vehicles to surround the Assembly building and block Seogang Bridge, adding they don't care about the legal consequences of doing so.

Key taxi unions and associations also announced they would boycott Kakao T, Kakao's popular cab-hailing app.

The ridesharing app is scheduled to officially launch on Monday. It already has around 70,000 registered drivers ― rivaling the total number of cabs in Seoul.

Paid rides in unlicensed vehicles are banned in Korea, but Kakao was able to launch a limited ridesharing app because the Passenger Transport Service Act allows such services during commuting hours.

Taxi drivers protest in front of the National Assembly at Yeouido, Nov. 22, at the second major rally against ridesharing apps. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han
Taxi drivers protest in front of the National Assembly at Yeouido, Nov. 22, at the second major rally against ridesharing apps. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han

But taxi drivers say Kakao's planned ridesharing app steps outside legal boundaries. The app allows users to hail rides at any time of day, rather than being limited to rush hour.

The app would also charge around 70 percent to 80 percent of the normal taxi fare, which means it could easily take customers away from taxi drivers who are already facing long work hours and small incomes.

"I'm sacrificing my life in the hopes taxi drivers can earn livable wages one day," Choi wrote in a suicide note.

Despite such strong protest from taxi drivers, public sentiment has mostly been in favor of the ridesharing app due to dissatisfaction with the availability and quality of taxi services. It is common for taxi drivers to refuse passengers going short distances late at night, especially in crowded areas of Seoul like Hongdae, Gangnam and Itaewon.

But the problem can be solved within the taxi business itself, Lee said.

"We actually have too many idle taxis, so the number of operating taxis in the country is virtually 200,000, not the registered 250,000," Lee said. "We are working to resolve this by creating our own cab-hailing app that sends taxis to where they are most needed. The app will also hide the intended destination of passengers from the driver, so they can't pick and choose between passengers."




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