South Korean justice decided that Uber violated transport law
A court in South Korean decided on Wednesday that Uber violated the law by using private vehicles for commercial purposes, a new blow to the American company that claims it is solely an online service and not a transport company.
Uber operations in Asia’s fourth largest economy wouldn’t be affected, as the company suspended the UberX service since 2014, immediately after prosecutors filed charges for violating the law.
The South Korean unit has “admitted and repented” its illegal activities and solved the matter, the judge wrote in the decision. The society received a fine of 10 million won, the equivalent of $8,863.
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Uber will continue to provide its premium taxi service, called UberBLACK, and UberASSIST for the people with disabilities, as these do not use private vehicles, according to a company spokesperson.
Uber’s business model it being looked at by authorities worldwide because its drivers don’t have licenses, authorizations or insurances for providing transport services. Other countries, such as Brazil, Switzerland or Great Britain decided that Uber drivers are employees, not private contractors, since they cannot establish their tariffs freely, so Uber was further obliged to pay compensations and their fuel expenses.
Uber investors include American bank Goldman Sachs, GV – previous known as Google Ventures, as well as Japanese auto producer Toyota.
The Google partnership is being affected, though, by the trial filed by Waymo, the autonomous car unit of the online giant, which is accusing Uber of stealing commercial secrets.
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