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| Members of four taxi associations protest the launch of the Kakao T Carpool application in front of the Kakao Mobility office in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 11. Over 70,000 taxi drivers are scheduled to suspend operations Thursday and some of them will hold a rally against the ridesharing service in Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul. Yonhap |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Tens of thousands of taxi drivers nationwide are scheduled to hold a strike Thursday in protest of Kakao Mobility's planned launch of a ridesharing application.
The Seoul Private Taxi Association and Seoul Taxi Association jointly announced they would stage a strike Thursday to protest the launch of the application, which they claim will impact their livelihoods drastically. Kakao Mobility is the smart mobility and ride sharing branch of Kakao.
Members of the two associations will halt their operation from 4 a.m. on Thursday to 4 a.m. on Friday. They will instead hold a rally at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
The two associations have over 70,000, and it remains to be seen how many will actually participate in the joint action. The strike involves not only Seoul taxis but also the Korea National Joint Conference of Taxi Association, and thousands of other taxi drivers across the country are expected to stop work to join the rally in Seoul.
"We expect around 20,000 private taxi drivers in Seoul to take part and around 100,000 are predicted to strike nationwide," an official from the Seoul Private Taxi Association said. "We are planning to hold a street march to Cheong Wa Dae."
The strike is the third collective action by the groups, following two protests earlier this month in front of the Kakao Mobility office in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province.
Their halting of operation and the march is expected to cause traffic chaos in Seoul.
"We will extend the hours of buses and subways and come up with other countermeasures," an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government said, Wednesday.
Despite the strong protest from taxi operators, Kakao Mobility plans to push ahead with its ridesharing business.
Kakao released a statement on Tuesday that it is recruiting drivers for Kakao T Carpool. However, it failed to mention when the service will go into effect.
Kakao says the ride sharing service will only be used during morning and evening rush hours as there have been mounting complaints from the public over lack of available taxis during peak hours.
The app launch date has been delayed indefinitely as Kakao Mobility has been waiting for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport to announce its new car sharing policy.
Uber launched a lift service in 2013, but was suspended after meeting strong protest by city officials and taxi drivers.
Kakao Mobility has been successful in launching Kakao T Taxi, a taxi calling service, which was launched in 2015. The app was a hit among consumers due to its convenience and easy accessibility. Eighty percent of taxi drivers have been utilizing the app to reel in customers.
According to a survey released by Kakao Mobility, the average taxi driver earned 37.5 percent more after the launch of the application.
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