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| Thousands of taxi drivers and workers from taxi operators across Korea packed Gwanghwamun Square in Jung-gu, Seoul, Thursday, protesting against the recent launch of Kakao T Carpool. Korea Times photos by Shim Hyun-chul |
A walkout by thousands of taxi drivers in protest against a commercial carpool service disrupted commuters heading to works during morning rush hour on Thursday.
The stoppage began at 4 a.m. to protest against the recent launch of Kakao T Carpool, a ride-sharing service designed to connect ordinary drivers to passengers during the morning and evening rush hours. The taxi drivers claim the top mobile messaging company's service will kill the industry.
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| Anti-carpool protesters raise pickets reading "Illegal carpool app service OUT," "Illegal personal vehicle service in disguise of carpool OUT" and "Keep passenger transport industry ordered." |
No major disturbances were reported during the 24-hour strike.
Commuters in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, the areas surrounding Seoul, experienced delaya in hailing taxi, after around half the taxi drivers operating in the two metropolitan regions walked off the job.
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| A protester raises a banner reading "Secure safety of passengers!" Yonhap |
Nearly 10,500 corporation-owned taxi drivers and more than 26,600 privately owned taxi drivers went on the one-day strike in Gyeonggi _ 54 percent of all drivers.
In Incheon, about 7,000 taxi drivers joined the walkout.
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| As the protesters called for "survival rights," a taxi cruises down an empty road in front of the main entrance of Gwanghwamun. |
The strike disturbed the routine commute of many citizens. Commuters formed long queues at bus stands or hurriedly walked to the subway to use another means of transport.
Hundreds of taxi drivers in other parts of the country also joined the strike, but this had little effect on commuters because the number of participating drivers was relatively low.
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| While the protest is in progress, citizens queue in front of Seoul Station in Jung-gu to wait for a taxi. Yonhap |
The strike also had a limited impact on people in Seoul, although some commuters in the morning had difficulties calling taxis via Kakao's cab-hailing app. (Yonhap)
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