KakaoMobility, a travel platform owned by South Korean IT giant Kakao, is South Korea's largest online ride-hailing platform. recently,The Korean Fair Trade Commission announced a fine of 72.4 billion won (approximately RMB 380 million) on Kakao Mobility, setting the highest fine in the history of the domestic online ride-hailing platform industry in South Korea.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission stated that KakaoMobility took advantage of its overwhelming advantage in the general taxi-hailing market to undermine the order of fair trade, hinder the operations of competing companies, and benefit the development of related businesses.
However, regarding the Fair Trade Commission’s ruling, KakaoMobility stated that it will file an administrative lawsuit.
According to the report, the investigation showed that KakaoMobility actively hindered the operations of competing taxi platforms such as Banban, Macaron, UT and Tada.
The company pressured these operators to either pay fees or enter into agreements to share real-time operational data.
And when these companies say no,Kakao retaliated by threatening to block their drivers from using its main ride-hailing app, KakaoT.
Data shows that Kakao’s taxi market share in South Korea has climbed from 51% in 2020 to 79% in 2022. This rapid expansion has raised concerns about potential monopolistic behavior and prompted South Korea’s KFTC to investigate Kakao.