 |
Photo = Kakao Mobility |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] Kakao Mobility has been fined approximately 72.4 billion won ($54 million) by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for blocking calls from drivers affiliated with competing taxi companies.
On October 2, the FTC announced that it imposed the fine and a corrective order on Kakao Mobility for requiring competitors to enter into partnership agreements that mandated the sharing of trade secrets. If they refused, these competitors would be barred from using Kakao Mobility's general taxi call service.
Kakao Mobility operates as a platform provider that offers both franchised taxi services and general call services. The general call service is available to all medium-sized taxis, regardless of their affiliation. Since launching the general call service in 2015, Kakao Mobility has captured a dominant market share, reaching 96% of the medium-sized taxi app general call market as of 2022.
In 2019, with the launch of its "Kakao T Blue" franchised taxi service, Kakao Mobility aimed to centralize all taxi calls through its Kakao T platform. Subsequently, the company devised a plan to block general calls for drivers from competing franchised taxi companies.
In May 2021, Kakao Mobility pressured four rival operators—Tada, Wooty, Banban Taxi, and Macaroon Taxi—to either pay a fee for using the general call service or sign partnership agreements that required them to share driver information and operational routes. Those who declined were threatened with being unable to use the general call service on the Kakao T app. As a result, Banban Taxi and Macaroon Taxi agreed to the partnership agreements. The FTC determined that the information provided could have been used to analyze regions and time slots with high taxi demand, assisting Kakao Mobility in developing its business strategy.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
