South Korea's antitrust regulator, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), imposed a 15.1 billion won fine on Kakao (KRX:035720) subsidiary Kakao Mobility for unfair business practices, Yonhap News reported Tuesday.
The taxi-hailing service is said to have manipulated its app algorithm to favor franchise taxis over non-franchise ones. The app allegedly directed ride requests to franchise cabs even when non-franchise taxis were closer, the report said.
The fine, considerably lower from an estimate of 72.4 billion won earlier, indicated a reassessment of the firm's operating profits, it said.
Shares of Kakao rose more than 1% at market close on Wednesday.
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