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The Korea Herald
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THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

Automobiles

Uber prepares to launch new service in Korea

  • PUBLISHED :December 22, 2016 - 16:54
  • UPDATED :December 22, 2016 - 16:54
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[THE INVESTOR] US-based ride-hailing service provider Uber is hiring a team of workers for a special project in Seoul, signaling its market expansion in the Asia’s fourth largest economy.

Uber posted nine new positions based in Seoul on its website, mostly senior roles for its special projects, including a brand manager, sales manager, logistic manager and general manager, among others. The company, however, did not indicate the details of the special project, except describing it as “Uber’s new product group.”




The size of the recruitment is big, considering less than 10 people are working at the Korean office now.

Some market watchers speculate the new operation could be UberPool, the latest carpooling service that matches people to share a ride with someone traveling the same route. More recently, Uber is spending big on new projects such as its food delivery service, UberEats, and its research and development of self-driving cars.

Uber Korea, however, was not immediately available for comment on the matter.

Uber entered the country in 2013 with its car-sharing service UberX. But two years later, the iconic ride-sharing provider had to halt operations, as it met with resistance from taxi drivers and the Seoul City government. This year, Uber returned to the market by launching UberBlack, a premium taxi-hailing service, for selective areas in Seoul.

With much higher fare than regular taxis in the city, Uber has had a rough ride so far in the country that is already dominated by KakaoTaxi, a taxi-hailing app launched by tech giant Kakao in partnership with local taxi drivers during Uber’s hiatus. 

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)

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