Uber Technologies Inc. will begin directing users to a cab company in South Korea’s third-largest city as the car-sharing service adjusts its business model to comply with local regulations.
Uber will begin services in Incheon, northwest of Seoul, in partnership with Seven Call Taxi, a company that operates about 3,000 cabs in the city, San Francisco-based Uber said Monday in an e-mailed statement.
The move follows the indictment of Uber’s Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick by South Korean prosecutors in December for violating South Korean transportation laws, which state that only licensed cabs may be used for taxi service. The metropolitan government in Seoul, South Korea’s capital, said last year that it may ban Uber’s services and similar applications on grounds they’re unsafe and compete with licensed taxi services.
Uber’s services have been suspended in countries from India to Germany, as well as in several U.S. states, amid legal challenges. Last month, Uber was banned in Spain, and last week, the European Union’s top court denied non-traditional cabs the use of bus lanes in London.
The company has responded by adjusting its services, in some cases sacrificing its main business model. Its software now also allows customers to find taxis in several countries, a less profitable business.
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