Seoul taxi drivers said Wednesday they have filed a complaint with the police against an Uber driver for running an illegal taxi operation in their latest move to ban the service in the city.
Uber is a U.S.-based smartphone app that connects passengers with registered drivers for hire.
The Seoul Taxi Association said the driver used a rental Mercedes-Benz to transport a passenger from Jamsil Sports Complex to City Hall on Sept. 25.
Rental cars are prohibited from being used as cabs, and violators can be fined up to 10 million won ($9,100), the association said.
The group vowed to collect more evidence to prove that the app service was illegal.
“Uber gets in the way of legal cab services and threatens the livelihoods of taxi drivers,” Oh Kwang-won, head of the association, said. “We plan to take a more proactive stance against Uber.”
Last month, Uber Korea, the local affiliate of the U.S. company, unveiled UberX, which connects users with friends and acquaintances with cars. A year ago, it launched Uber Black, which links users with limousines.
Uber Korea, however, immediately ran into legal hurdles, as the Seoul municipal government classified its service as violating the Passenger Transport Service Act in July. The law states that all commercially hired transport vehicles must be legally registered, which is not always the case with Uber drivers.
Seoul authorities said they are examining a way to ban the app.
Uber has met with stiff opposition in other countries where existing cab drivers perceive it as unwelcome competition. (Yonhap)
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
