Tada Was Driven Out by the Anti-Tada Law, Yet Found Not Guilty—Now It’s the National Assembly’s Turn to Reflect

It has been one month since the Supreme Court handed down a not-guilty verdict, ruling that the Tada service was not an illegal call taxi service. After the court ruling, Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at the party’s Supreme Council meeting, “This is a case in which politics failed to keep up with the flow of the times,” and “I painfully accept the criticism that Tada’s victory is the National Assembly’s defeat.”

Although there was what amounted to a public apology from the ruling party leadership and a not-guilty verdict was issued, there is no possibility that the Tada service will come back to life. That is because, while the trial was underway, the political establishment had already passed the “Tada ban law.”

Tada, which first launched its service in 2018, exploited a regulatory blind spot. In Korea’s heavily regulated market, legal risk is a top priority for many startups. Tada was no exception. It not only conducted legal reviews but also continued consultations with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and others. However, as the Tada service expanded and opposition from the taxi industry intensified, the situation changed rapidly.

The prosecution, which indicted Tada, began a long legal battle, saying it would seek a final ruling from the Supreme Court. When a not-guilty verdict was handed down in the first trial, both the ruling and opposition parties, with the March 2020 election approaching, passed the “Tada ban law” in a plenary session of the National Assembly. It was a bipartisan product, led by the Democratic Party of Korea and abetted by the People Power Party. With the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport keeping a low profile out of consideration for the taxi industry, and former President Moon Jae-in not exercising his veto, Tada ultimately disappeared into history.

Some criticize Tada by saying it cleverly evaded the current law, but innovation always emerges by finding its way through the cracks in existing practices and regulations. The same goes for the criticism that Tada involved neither remarkable technology nor massive investment. Innovation is about solving consumer inconveniences that had gone unrecognized. Innovation should be judged by consumers’ response; it cannot become innovation simply because suppliers claim it is.

Younghoon Kim, Secretary General of the Economic Knowledge Network

Original title: 타다금지법에 사라진 타다는 무죄···국회가 반성할 차례

Author: Young-hoon Kim

Date: 2023-07-26

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=press&idx=25908