The Gyeongbuk Gumi City Individual Taxi Transportation Business Association, which had operated regulations to impose disadvantages for transferring or receiving individual taxi licenses without going through the association, was sanctioned by the Fair Trade Commission.
On the 20th, the Fair Trade Commission noted that the Gumi City branch of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Individual Taxi Transportation Business Association violated the Fair Trade Act by unfairly restricting members' transaction freedom and issued a corrective order. The corrective order included a prohibition of illegal activities and a notification obligation for members.
According to the Fair Trade Commission, the association had been mediating license transactions within the association since 2017 and operated internal regulations that permanently restricted membership for individuals who transacted licenses outside the association. The association assigned a number to license transfer applicants to determine the transaction order, and if this was not followed, it was found to impose disadvantages by denying membership itself or regarding existing members as voluntarily withdrawn, thus not returning the membership fee.
Since 2023, the association also refused to return a membership fee worth 1.7 million won to members who transferred licenses through external transactions. It is pointed out that if association membership is restricted, there are also limitations on insurance enrollment in the taxi cooperative association, leading to practical business disadvantages.
The association explained to the Fair Trade Commission that it induced internal transactions to protect members due to the high commission burden in external transactions. However, the Fair Trade Commission determined that the association's intervention violated members' autonomous business activities.
However, considering that the association abolished relevant article provisions last August and returned membership fees to existing members, the corrective order was concluded without a penalty surcharge.