Kakao Mobility announced on the 20th that the delegation from the Japanese taxi organization "X Taxi" visited its headquarters in Pangyo on the afternoon of the 17th to experience future mobility technologies such as autonomous driving and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for digital innovation to establish smart taxi infrastructure.
On this day, about 10 representatives from the Japanese taxi industry, including Kiyokawa Susumu, the representative of X Taxi, accompanied the delegation. X Taxi is a non-profit organization established in 2020 aimed at reforming the Japanese taxi industry. Currently, more than 100 taxi company representatives and key stakeholders from across Japan, including Tokyo, Hokkaido, Chiba, Kanagawa, and Okinawa, are members.
This visit was arranged at the proactive request of X Taxi, which has a strong interest in the operational processes of South Korea's taxi-hailing services. In fact, X Taxi believes that digital transformation (DX) is essential to solve the aging problem facing the Japanese taxi industry.
In response, Kakao Mobility provided a detailed introduction to its "Kakao T Taxi" business model based on ICT technology. They held a session explaining Kakao Mobility's advanced digital transformation cases and operational know-how, including the systematic "taxi company management software," the "unmanned dispatch kiosk" for operational efficiency, and the "taxi app meter" that was proactively introduced in South Korea before Japan.
In particular, the X Taxi delegation focused on Kakao Mobility's autonomous driving technology. They showed great interest when Kakao Mobility presented their autonomous driving demonstration experiences carried out in various regions such as Gangnam, Sejong, Pangyo, Seoul, Daegu, and Jeju, as well as the "Seoul Autonomous Vehicle," which has been selected as a private operator for Seoul's autonomous vehicle transport platform, and their differentiated technologies for constructing digital twin data.
On this day, both sides also signed an MOU to expand cooperative exchanges in the mobility sector between South Korea and Japan and to realize joint digital innovation. The agreement primarily focuses on mutual cooperation in areas such as the digital transformation of taxi company management systems, smart dispatch and demand forecasting, and providing foreigner-friendly ride experiences.
Given the serious aging problem, the Japanese taxi industry is struggling not only with driver shortages but also with IT manpower provisions. They are showing deep interest in Kakao Mobility's successful digital transformation cases and the vision for future mobility technologies such as autonomous driving, and they are expected to continue a close strategic partnership with mutual cooperation.
Kiyokawa Susumu, representative of X Taxi, said, "The operational process of Kakao Mobility's platform, especially the way it is preparing for the forthcoming autonomous driving ecosystem while coexisting with the existing taxi industry, was very impressive," adding, "If such an operational model and AI technology are applied to Japanese taxi services, it could greatly assist the digital transformation we are concerned about."
Ryu Geung-seon, CEO of Kakao Mobility, noted, "I expect that the exchange of taxi services between South Korea and Japan will become more active following the visit of the X Taxi delegation," and stated, "We will seek various collaborative opportunities for global expansion based on the travel data and AI-based technology accumulated by Kakao Mobility."