South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Daum Kakao Corp. said Wednesday its popular taxi application will be updated in October to allow users to hail high-end taxis.
  

Daum Kakao's latest plan is in line with the Ministry of Health and Welfare's move to ease regulations on the operations of high-end taxis, which will provide improved services compared with the existing luxury taxis.
  

Daum Kakao said it has signed memorandums of understanding with Seoul Taxi Association and High& Co. to speed up its efforts to tap deeper into its cab-hiring app business. High& will operate the high-end cabs.
  

Launched in late March, KakaoTaxi is a cab-hiring app that only requires users to type in destinations, which will be sent to an available cab driver. The app doesn't require riders to tell drivers their current locations, since the app will automatically show them on the drivers' app through the Global Positioning System.

 
High-end taxis are given more leeway compared with existing black-colored luxury taxis, as they do not require meters nor taxi signs and are allowed to freely set prices.
  

While taxi operators were already allowed to operate such services, the minimum engine capacity stands at 3,000 cc, which emerged as a barrier as there were few cars that met the criteria. The change lowered the limit to 2,800 cc.
  

High& said it is currently recruiting drivers for its service, adding they will be educated with foreign language skills and first aid know-how.
  

KakaoTaxi has gathered a combined 12 million calls since its release, with the number of member cab drivers exceeding 140,000.
  

Daum Kakao's flagship service, KakaoTalk, has 35 million local users in the country, with a population of 50 million, lending support to the booming growth of KakaoTaxi. (Yonhap)