Over 100,000 taxi drivers stage massive strike against ridesharing service

Taxi drivers stage a strike against a planned commercial ridesharing service in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Kang Seung-woo

Hundreds of thousands of taxi drivers nationwide stopped services, Thursday, in a one-day strike against a planned commercial ridesharing service they fear will threaten their livelihood.

As part of the massive walk-off, 100,000 taxi drivers from Seoul and other areas flocked to the front of the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, for their third such rally, where they protested against Kakao Mobility's new ridesharing app.

The strike occurred as tensions have escalated following a Seoul-based taxi driver setting himself on fire in an apparent suicide in front of the Assembly earlier this month. In fact, the previous rallies in October and November drew 70,000 and 40,000, respectively.

The nationwide strike began at 4 a.m., and 250,000 taxi drivers temporarily suspended operations for 24 hours, forcing them to use other transportation.

According to combined data from the taxi industry, more than 90 percent of taxis in Incheon, Busan and Daegu stopped operations. Even on the island of Jeju, where many foreign tourists take taxis, a large number were unavailable.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, 30 percent fewer taxis were available compared with Wednesday.

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"Compared with the previous strikes, Thursday's operating rate was lower, meaning that more taxi drivers participated in the latest protest," a ministry official said.

At the rally in front of the Assembly, taxi drivers urged lawmakers to revise the law to ban the ridesharing app.

"While the Moon Jae-in government and the parliament were disregarding desperate calls from taxi drivers, a miserable suicide occurred," a representative of taxi drivers' associations said in a statement.

"The government is required to immediately ban the Kakao ridesharing service and come up with measures to improve conditions for taxi drivers."

After the demonstration on Yeouido, the protesters marched via Mapo Bridge toward Mapo Station, causing traffic chaos in the evening rush hours.

Despite the large-scale stoppage, it did not trigger bigger problems for daily commuters as they were informed of the event in advance, and local government braced for it.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government increased subway and bus operations during morning and evening rush hours. In addition, the city government allowed private taxi drivers to operate although they have to take a one-day off after operating two days.

Other local governments also offered similar countermeasures to minimize inconvenience.

Despite their claims that the ridesharing service will kill the industry, their collective action is drawing a chilly response from the people, who have been irked by taxi drivers refusing to take passengers on short trips ― particularly at night time.

"As I have repeatedly experienced their refusal for short-distance trips and wild driving, I fully support the ridesharing service," said an office worker surnamed Yu.

"Rather than just demanding the ban on the Kakao app, they had better look back on their past behavior."

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