3rd driver's suicide attempt widens rift between taxi and ridesharing industries
Taxi drivers stage a protest against ridesharing service apps in front of the National Assembly on Yeouido in Seoul, Tuesday, a day after a third protesting taxi driver attempted suicide. / Yonhap
By Lee Suh-yoon
Following yet another suicide attempt by a cab driver on Monday in protest of ridesharing services, the gap between the taxi industry and the service providers is widening despite government efforts to reach a compromise.
More than 100 taxi drivers rallied, Tuesday, to demand a firm government crackdown on app-based ridesharing services.
“How many more taxi drivers must die before ridesharing services are halted?” Park Kwon-soo, head of the private taxi union, said at the rally in front of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) headquarters on Yeouido in Seoul.
The group also said it was time for President Moon Jae-in to step in and use his executive powers to halt ongoing ridesharing services.
“Despite these sacrifices (of taxi drivers who committed or attempted suicide), the government is turning a blind eye to the continuance of unlicensed taxi-like services such as Tada and PoolUs,” Park said. “President Moon Jae-in must immediately comply with our request for a face-to-face meeting and solve this problem.”
On Monday, Kim Guk-sik, 62, became the third taxi driver to set himself on fire in protest of Kakao Mobility's ridesharing service app. His smoking taxi rammed into another vehicle as it tried to make its way inside the gates of the National Assembly, where the third round of negotiations among the government, the DPK, the taxi industry and ridesharing app providers ― most notably Kakao T― were taking place.
Security guards pulled Kim from the car and he is now being treated for second-degree burns at a nearby hospital. Leaflets asking people to delete the Kakao ride-hailing app and a memo detailing his discontent with ridesharing services were found inside the car. Earlier that day, Kim attended a taxi drivers' rally against Kakao's app in front of the Assembly.
Firefighters inspect the taxi where a driver tried to commit suicide in front of the National Assembly on Yeouido in Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap
Before Kim, two cabbies in their late 50s and early 60s died of self-immolation in early December and January, prompting Kakao to indefinitely delay the official launch of its ridesharing service and close down its beta version service.
Paid ride services can only be operated by licensed taxis in Korea. However, various startups have been able to break into the ride-hailing industry through a regulatory loophole allowing paid ridesharing services by unlicensed vehicles during commute hours.
In Tuesday's rally, participants from four major taxi unions demanded that all non-taxi ride-hailing services be put on hold until the government-mediated talks between taxi drivers and the ridesharing app providers reach a consensus.
But it seems unlikely the two sides can agree on a middle ground. The taxi driver unions are adamantly against paid ridesharing services of any form, saying the services will further squeeze them financially.