Converting Standard Taxis to Premium or Large Taxis in Seoul Made Easier... 'Accident-Free' Requirement Removed

Seoul to Amend Taxi Ordinance Enforcement Rule
Reflecting Shift from Approval to Notification System
"10 to 20 Premium or Large Taxi Conversions per Month"

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will ease the requirements for converting standard taxis to premium or large taxis. The process for changing the business type for taxi operators will also shift from an approval system to a notification system.

On June 8, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it had recently issued a legislative notice for a partial amendment to the "Enforcement Rule of the Seoul Metropolitan City Taxi Basic Ordinance," which includes these changes, and will be accepting public comments from citizens until the 24th of this month.

Citizens using taxis at the Seoul Station taxi stand. Photo by The Asia Business Daily

Until now, converting a standard taxi to a model, large, or premium taxi required approval from the city government. However, with this amendment, if there are no legal restrictions, the conversion can be made through a notification procedure.

Notably, the accident-free requirement among the criteria for switching between types of taxi transport businesses has been removed. As a result, for individual taxi operators, the previous one-year requirement regarding records of business suspension, fines, or penalty points for violations will be eliminated. Additionally, for corporate taxi operators, the requirement of having no record of vehicle reduction orders within the past two years has been relaxed to within the past one year. The number of mandatory training hours will also be reduced.

However, not all taxi operators will be allowed to convert to premium or large taxis without restrictions. Operators who are currently suspended or have closed their business are excluded. In addition, for general taxi transport operators to switch to model, large, or premium taxi operations, they must not have received a vehicle reduction order in the past year, nor have any related administrative litigation currently in progress.

This amendment is intended to reflect the rising demand for premium taxis and large vans. While it is expected that the supply of various taxi services, such as premium taxis and large van taxis, will increase, there is also a possibility that if supply becomes concentrated, issues may arise such as a shortage of standard taxis and increased fare burdens.

The number of applications submitted to the Seoul Metropolitan Government for converting standard taxis to premium or large taxis reportedly averages between 10 and 20 per month, totaling around 150 cases annually.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.