Carpool Dispute

[Anchor Lead]

Taxi companies in Korea are warning of a strong protest against the Kakao carpool service. Taxi drivers launched a sit-in protest on Wednesday, and have vowed to stage a large rally next week.

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Taxi companies have started their protest against Kakao Corporation's carpool service slated for debut next week. The taxi companies began a sit-in protest in front of the National Assembly, and they set up an altar in honor of a taxi driver who committed suicide in protest of the carpool service. On December 20, taxi drivers plan to stage a massive rally to be attended by 100,000 people.

[Soundbite] Lee Yang-deok(Korea National Joint Conference of Taxi Association) : "Illegal carpool services threaten the survival of the taxi sector. We vehemently refuse to accept this."

The taxi companies added that they would urge taxi drivers around the nation to delete the Kakao taxi app and not respond to calls. Kakao Corporation seems to be willing to make concessions in the face of rising protest. The company said recently that it may consider postponing the launch of its carpool service slated for December 17.

[Soundbite] Lee Yun-keun(Kakao Corp.) : "We will proactively discuss the timing of officially launching our carpool service with the relevant organizations and the taxi sector with an open mind."

Meanwhile, political circles are also stepping in to solve the conflict. Democratic Party Rep. Jeon Hyun-hee, who is heading a carpool and taxi task force, is calling for simultaneously easing regulations of the sharing economy and providing support to the taxi sector. He also promised to cooperate with the taxi sector, Kakao Corporation and the relevant government agencies to reach a compromise this week.