Kakao Mobility, the operator of the Kakao T taxi app, has been fined 72.4 billion won (approximately $54.66 million) by South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) for unfairly blocking ride requests from competitors that refused to share operational data. This is the largest fine ever imposed on a taxi platform. Last year, the company was also fined 27.1 billion won for allegedly favoring its own taxis, bringing its total penalties over the past two years to nearly 100 billion won ($75.50 million).
On Oct 2., the KFTC announced additional fines and corrective measures against Kakao Mobility for breaching fair trade laws, with plans to file a criminal complaint. The KFTC revealed that Kakao had requested critical internal data—such as taxi affiliation, driver locations, and sign-up records—from four rival platforms: UT, Tada, BanBan Taxi, and Macaron Taxi. When these companies refused, Kakao retaliated by blocking ride requests to their taxis.
The KFTC found that Kakao Mobility, which holds over 90% of the taxi call market, abused its dominant position to weaken competitors. As a result, many drivers whose ride requests were blocked switched affiliations, causing Kakao’s market share to surge. A KFTC official stated, “Kakao Mobility engaged in illegal practices to strengthen its market dominance.”
In response, Kakao Mobility defended its actions, stating, “We sought data sharing because drivers from competitor-affiliated taxis were canceling Kakao T calls after accepting rides from their own platforms, causing inconvenience to our users.”
