South Korea rejects Uber registration proposal, vows to shut down company

South Korea on Thursday rejected online ride-sharing firm Uber Technologies Inc’s proposal for a new driver registration system, and vowed to shut down the U.S. company’s operations. Uber on Wednesday proposed a registration system to allow its drivers to operate legally in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, where CEO Travis Kalanick and the head of the company’s South Korean unit have been indicted for violating licensing rules. But the transport ministry said a parallel taxi registration system was unacceptable in a market already over-supplied with taxis.

Transporting customers with private or rented cars and accepting compensation is clearly illegal. The company is ignoring local laws by stating its intention to continue such operations.

Ministry statement

Four-year-old Uber, which helps users summon taxi-like services on their smartphones, has drawn criticism around the world, even as it has continued to expand rapidly into more than 250 cities globally. In Europe, where it offers a range of transport options from professional limousine services to informal ride-sharing, Uber has been hit with court injunctions in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain for violating taxi licensing rules.

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