Is Uber about to get banned and replaced in Seoul?

Uber has hit a massive stumbling block this week with the Seoul government planning to ban its app and revoke its business license. On top of that, they have said they plan to launch a competitor in the city.

The Seoul city council has said: ‘We are looking into related laws to block Uber and similar apps that arrange such illegal transportation activities’.

This illegal transportation is down to the ‘Passenger Transport Service Act’, in which anyone being paid for driving activities must have a valid taxi license. Uber issued a statement to Seoul’s response saying ‘Seoul is in danger of remaining trapped in the past and getting left behind by the global ‘sharing economy’ movement.’

This all comes off the back of Uber’s push into Asia although it doesn’t seem to have affected anything, with Uber raising $1.2bn in June to give the San Francisco based company a valuation of $18bn.

Having used Uber a number of times in London and San Francisco, I hope this gets resolved so Asia can experience it too.

Image: RunRocknRoll