Summary: The CEO of Uber, Travis Kalanick, has been indicted by South Korean authorities for operating an illegal taxi service.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has been indicted on flouting local taxi laws by South Korean authorities, according to PCWorld.
In 2014 alone, Uber has raised $1.4 billion to expand its operations to new places across the world. Users take advantage of a mobile application that puts them in touch with drivers in some 250 cities globally.
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The application takes the payment for the ride and no cash is exchanged between rider and driver.
The vehicles vary based on the city, but can include limousines, SUVs, sedans, licensed taxis or private vehicles driven by owners without a business license.
The company has received this type of criticism in the past due to unfair competition with licensed taxi services. The company uses unlicensed drivers and allows users to hail a ride using the application.
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Following multiple rapes and assaults by drivers, the company has also been accused of not performing thorough background checks on its drivers.
Kalanick was indicted on Wednesday in South Korea on charges of operating an illegal taxi service.
MK Korea’s head was also indicted. MK Korea is a car rental operator. The head of the company was accused of operating an illegal passenger transport business using company cars. Neither person has been taken into custody by South Korean authorities.
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Each could face up to two years in prison because of the indictments.
A complaint was filed by Seoul officials, which triggered an investigation. Last Friday, Seoul government officials told the public that they would be rewarded $907 if they reported illegal activities of Uber.
“Uber Technologies respects the Korean legal system and will provide its full cooperation,” the company said in a statement. “We firmly believe that our service, which connects drivers and riders via an application, is not only legal in Korea, but that it is being welcomed and supported by consumers.”
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The UberPop service is facing a complete ban in France beginning on January 1. This service puts unlicensed drivers in touch with passengers. UberPop is already banned in Spain, while Belgium is considering filing charges against Uber for operating UberPop.
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Image credit: Uber