Uber CEO says seeing 'double-digit growth' in S. Korea

The head of US ride-hailing giant Uber said Friday that the company was seeing double-digit growth in South Korea and was "committed" to the country, despite currently having a small market share.

The popular platform entered the country a decade ago but was met with large-scale protests by taxi drivers, prompting a ban by Seoul city authorities.

Officials in the capital also deemed the company's UberX service illegal as private drivers were matched with passengers despite lacking commercial licences, forcing the service to be suspended. Uber later launched a joint venture in a bid to disrupt market-leader Kakao taxi's monopolistic hold. Currently, Kakao accounts for 90 percent of the market.

Because of local regulations, the joint venture matches riders only with licensed taxis, not with casual Uber drivers, as in many other markets.

Initially, the joint venture did not make significant inroads, but after a rebrand in March, Uber has "observed month-on-month double-digit growth, with an increase in both ridership and driver participation enhancing the reliability of the service," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said. "In Korea usage by international travellers has more than doubled after the rebrand," he added. "In fact, most Uber taxis in Korea now arrive within three minutes of being ordered."

Khosrowshahi said South Korea "is a very attractive market but at the same time, the Korean market is very different and Western companies have had difficulty penetrating the Korean market which is one of the reasons why we have local partnerships."

"We have a lot of respect for local regulators here and we believe that we can build a business in collaboration with local regulations as they are."

Last month, media reports said Kakao Taxi was being investigated for potentially unfair contracts that impose fees on bookings through other apps like Uber Taxi.

Domestic taxi drivers have long expressed dissatisfaction with the Kakao app's hefty commission rates, which they argue disadvantage them, yet they continue to use the platform because of its significant market presence. (AFP)