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Kakao and Naver stocks fell sharply today (8th). This is because the ruling party decided to intensify the discussion on 'reinforcement of regulations', saying that the existing industry is avoiding regulations while continuing to expand its business in all directions.



Reporter Im Tae-woo reports.



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Kakao T, which accounts for 80% of the taxi call market, recently tried to raise the smart call fee by up to 5,000 won, but withdrew from public opinion.



It took over a proxy operator and entered the business directly, which drew backlash from existing operators.



[Jang Yu-jin/Chairman of Korea Association of Drivers Association: When large corporations infringe on alleyways or give work to affiliates, there are a lot of restrictions, but Kakao seems to be an exception. Other large companies can't do it no matter how much they want to... .] With



this octopus-style expansion, the total number of affiliates reached 158.



Online platform operators such as Kakao are classified as intermediaries, so the Large-scale Distribution Business Act, which sanctions infringement of alleyways, does not apply, and the Fair Trade Act also makes it difficult to punish new types of unfair practices.



Democratic lawmakers who pointed out cacao as a symbol of greed and outdatedness at the National Assembly debate expressed their intention to handle the related regulatory bill in this regular session of the National Assembly.



[Lee Dong-ju/Rep. of the Democratic Party of Korea: The On-play Act (Online Platform Fairness Act) has been set as a major legislative task. At the regular National Assembly, ministries will also speed up... .]



The financial authorities have already decided to suspend Kakao and Naver's financial platforms, stating that the comparison and recommendation service of funds and insurance products of other financial companies is an intermediary based on sales.



[Kakao official: We will continue to listen to the voices of our partners and continue our efforts for coexistence… .]



Currently, there are eight related regulatory bills pending in the National Assembly.



Discussions were sluggish due to jurisdictional issues, but as the party government announced its will to regulate, the stock price of Kakao plunged more than 10% and Naver nearly 8% in the stock market.



(Video editing: Kim Jong-woo)