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EDSKT-Uber alliance

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New mobility venture should not repeat Tada failure

SK Telecom said Friday that it would jump into the domestic mobility service market by forming a joint venture with Uber Technologies. The company aims to launch an "all-in-one" service system, which provides vehicle-hailing, chauffeur and parking services with a single app. Uber, the U.S.-based ride-hailing company, will invest $150 million into the tie-up business.

The corporate alliance is likely to develop the domestic mobility ecosystem to a higher level. SK Telecom and Uber are global players in the telecom and ride-hailing markets, respectively. The Korean company's ultimate goal is to emerge as a powerful player in the mobility market by grafting its telecom service to Uber's technological prowess, which vowed to provide flying-car services in urban areas by 2029.

Mobility innovation and the sharing economy are two irreversible trends in this era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The sharing economy has suffered a blow from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the damage remains limited. Telecom and auto companies are going all-out to become front-runners in the ongoing industrial transformation. They do not hesitate to make massive investments and even take the hands of rivals. Amid this global competition, however, some Korean companies have recently experienced frustration.

A case in point was the failure of Tada, a ride-hailing service that boasted 1.7 million active users. The company began with the promise of providing a new means of transport. However, it had to bow out of the market 18 months after the launch, unable to get over the strong backlash from taxi businesses. Tada recently shifted to a chauffeur service but is faltering again, faced with vehement resistance from unions led by designated driver services.

Uber's previous failure to advance into the Korean market was also due to resistance from vested interest groups. A country has no future if its existing market players reject changes when the industrial paradigm itself is undergoing an epochal change. Only when Korean industries jump on the bandwagon of innovation, can the nation attain economic growth and create jobs. Korea Inc. should never repeat the Tada fiasco by discouraging aspiring innovators.




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