IT Blog

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s ride-hailing service Tada, a smash hit since its launch just over a year ago, was cleared of transport law violations in court on Wednesday, a rare victory in a market that has been particularly unkind to ride-hailing companies.

Since starting up in late 2018, Tada has won 1.7 million users as it capitalized on growing demand and the funding muscle of its Japanese backer SoftBank Group Corp.

But the ride-hailing firm still faces the threat of increasing regulations that has spooked investors, as well as violent protest from a powerful taxi lobby ahead of an April general election.

South Korea restricts ride-hailing to only licensed taxis and bans the use of private cars for the purpose. Tada has been exploiting a rule that allows the rental of chauffer-driven 11-seaters to operate its ride-hailing services, angering…