South Korea OKs Taxi-Uber Joint Venture

South Korea’s corporate watchdog said Wednesday it has approved a move by SK Telecom’s mobility spinoff to launch a taxi-hailing joint venture with Uber Technologies.

T Map Mobility, wholly owned by SK Telecom, the country’s biggest mobile carrier, plans to set up a taxi-hailing joint venture with US ride-hailing company Uber in April, as it seeks to strengthen its business in the connected mobility sector.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said it has given the green light to the joint venture proposal as it does not hurt market competition.

“We’ve judged the move does not cause concerns about competition restrictions as it will likely rather increase competition pressure for industry leader Kakao,” the antitrust watchdog said.

Currently, Kakao Mobility, the mobility business unit of Kakao, is a dominant player in the taxi-hailing services market here with a market share of some 80 percent.

The KFTC said it plans to approve corporate mergers in case such marriages facilitate innovation in new industries and do not hamper market competition.

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