Top regulator says Kakao's support for small biz on 'right track'

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top telecommunications regulator said Wednesday that Kakao Corp.'s plan to support small businesses is on the "right track" amid growing scrutiny against the internet giant's market dominance.

On Tuesday, Kakao said it would create a 300 billion-won (US$256 million) fund to support small merchants and scrap some of its services that compete with them in a move to soothe growing regulatory scrutiny.

"Kakao is making efforts to improve, and I think it is on the right track," Han Sang-hyuk, the head of the Korea Communications Commission, said ahead of his meeting with mobile carriers.

He, however, added that Kakao's plan still needs to be checked if it meets the public's standards and that regulations could be required if there are areas that could be improved.

Kakao's mobility unit has recently been under fire for allegedly levying unfair fees on taxi drivers that use its taxi-hailing service.

Last week, Han said he was looking into the controversy and shared the concerns of the taxi drivers.

As part of Kakao's support plans announced a day earlier, Kakao Mobility, the country's leading taxi-hailing service operator, said it will lower its paid membership price for taxi drivers and scrap a paid hailing service.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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