Taxi Drivers Strike Against Kakao's Carpooling App

Taxis line up along the street in Gwanghwamun, Seoul on Thursday.

More than 30,000 taxi drivers gathered from across the country on Thursday to protest against a new carpooling app, with nearly half of the capital's taxi drivers going on a 24-hour strike at 4 a.m.

Advertisement

The protest comes after Kakao Mobility started recruiting drivers Tuesday for the launch of the carpooling service. The taxi drivers say the service will take a major toll on their business and steal their jobs. 

Kakao insists the service will fill a need at certain times of the day and night when there are not enough taxis. Also, its user-friendly interface will be easy for consumers to access and a ride will be slightly cheaper than taxi fares.

Taxi drivers are incensed. "There is no way the government or other authorities can fully enforce the rules on time. We simply cannot believe that", said one taxi driver. "There are some 260,000 taxis in the country, and we carry 5 million passengers per day. If Kakao recruits 2 million drivers, we'll have no one to pick up".

Taxi drivers rally in Gwanghwamun, Seoul on Thursday.

The standoff has reignited controversy over how Korea should deal with the "shared economy" as lawmakers struggle to catch up with a rapidly changing environment for which no regulations exist.