Taxi driver sets himself on fire in protest over proposed carpooling service
Mon Dec 10, 2018 12:33:pm World
3.5K By Obiaks Blog
A 57-year-old South Korean taxi driver died on Monday of self-immolation in protest against a carpooling service about to introduced in the country by the country's largest and most popular mobile chat app, KakaoTalk.
South Korean police and fire department said the the driver --surnamed Choi, a leader of the union branch at his firm in Seoul-- poured flammable liquid on himself while he sat in a taxi near the country's parliament before setting himself alight.
Choi had told another taxi driver he wanted to set himself on fire "because of the Kakao carpool", Yonhap news agency quoted the man as saying.
Unionised taxi drivers have held protest over the proposed Kakao Mobility which they say would threaten their jobs and livelihoods and are asking the government to refuse permission for the service.
Carpooling giant, Uber faced similar backlash in 2015, forcing the firm to close its main ride-sharing service, and offering only a taxi -and licensed-hire vehicle hailing.
"We are still in the middle of a tug-of-war against the government to stop the carpool service," said an official at the Korea National Joint Conference of Taxi Association.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Kakao Mobility extended the company's sympathies to the family of the taxi driver.
"We feel sorry and sad and express our condolences," the spokesperson said.
South Korean police and fire department said the the driver --surnamed Choi, a leader of the union branch at his firm in Seoul-- poured flammable liquid on himself while he sat in a taxi near the country's parliament before setting himself alight.
Choi had told another taxi driver he wanted to set himself on fire "because of the Kakao carpool", Yonhap news agency quoted the man as saying.
Unionised taxi drivers have held protest over the proposed Kakao Mobility which they say would threaten their jobs and livelihoods and are asking the government to refuse permission for the service.
Carpooling giant, Uber faced similar backlash in 2015, forcing the firm to close its main ride-sharing service, and offering only a taxi -and licensed-hire vehicle hailing.
"We are still in the middle of a tug-of-war against the government to stop the carpool service," said an official at the Korea National Joint Conference of Taxi Association.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Kakao Mobility extended the company's sympathies to the family of the taxi driver.
"We feel sorry and sad and express our condolences," the spokesperson said.
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