Tada, a South Korean ride-hailing platform, has filed a lawsuit against Kakao Mobility, the operator of the popular Kakao T taxi-hailing service, seeking 10 billion won (approximately 7.5 million USD) in damages. Tada alleges that Kakao Mobility engaged in unfair practices, including "call blocking" and "call prioritization," which harmed Tada's business.
According to Tada, Kakao Mobility's "call blocking" policy prevented Tada's drivers from receiving ride requests through the Kakao T platform if they were not affiliated with Kakao Mobility's own taxi service. This policy, Tada claims, effectively shut Tada out of the market, as Kakao T controls over 90% of the ride-hailing market in South Korea.
Tada also alleges that Kakao Mobility engaged in "call prioritization," in which its own affiliated taxis were given preferential treatment in the allocation of ride requests. This practice, Tada argues, further disadvantaged Tada's drivers and customers.
Tada claims that these unfair practices have caused significant damage to its business, including the forced closure of its "Tada Light" service, a mid-sized taxi service launched in 2020. Tada estimates that its actual damages could be as high as 63 billion won (approximately 47 million USD).
This lawsuit comes amid growing tensions between Tada's parent company, Toss (Viva Republica), and Kakao. Toss has recently accused Kakao of unfairly restricting its ability to share Toss event information on the KakaoTalk messaging platform. Kakao has denied these allegations, claiming that the restrictions were necessary to address user complaints about excessive sharing of Toss events.
Some industry analysts believe that the lawsuit is a proxy battle between Toss and Kakao, as the two companies compete in various financial and technology sectors. Others suggest that Tada is simply trying to deflect attention from its own business challenges by blaming Kakao Mobility for its failures.
Whatever the motivations behind the lawsuit, it is clear that the legal battle between Tada and Kakao Mobility could have significant implications for the future of the ride-hailing market in South Korea.
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