Seoul: The financial regulator has decided to impose a fine of 3.46 billion won (US$2.48 million) on Kakao Mobility Corp., the operator of South Korea's leading taxi-hailing service, for alleged accounting fraud. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) approved the penalty against Kakao Mobility, which was initially imposed by the Securities and Futures Commission, an arm of the FSC, earlier this month.According to Yonhap News Agency, the company is accused of inflating its revenues in preparation for a stock market debut. The FSC has also decided to levy a combined fine of 692.4 million won on the company's chief, Ryu Geung-seon, and a former chief financial officer. Furthermore, the case has been referred to the prosecution for further investigation.Kakao Mobility is alleged to have added commission fees collected from taxi drivers to its operating profits and registered partnership fees paid to drivers as operating expenses in its 2020-2022 financial statements, which is a violation of accounting regul ations. This decision by the FSC comes a month after the Fair Trade Commission, the antitrust regulator, fined the company 72.4 billion won for allegedly coercing competing taxi franchise operators into signing partnership deals and blocking their access to its taxi-hailing service, Kakao T, if they refused the offer.
- October 12, 2026
