Kakao Mobility joins hands with the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association to launch ‘Safe Medical Livelihood Support for Taxi Drivers.’
It will be operated with KRW 2.2 billion out of the KRW 10 billion ‘Mobility Worker Win-Win Fund’ created jointly by Kakao Mobility and Kakao Impact, Kakao’s corporate foundation, and is scheduled to run for one year until November 2023.
‘Safe support for taxi drivers’ medical livelihood’ was designed to improve the treatment of platform providers by guaranteeing taxi drivers’ right to health. Kakao Mobility plans to provide practical help in quickly recovering health and maintaining a stable livelihood for taxi drivers in order to provide minimum benefits and protection for platform workers.
Through this project, for taxi drivers who incur medical expenses due to illness or aftereffects of an accident but are unable to receive treatment due to financial difficulties, the cost equivalent to the out-of-pocket costs of health insurance or private insurance will be supported up to a maximum of 13 million won per person. However, expenses such as simple health checkups, fluids and medications for health management, and cosmetic purposes are excluded.
To be eligible to apply, you must have worked for at least 1 month within the past year or be currently working as a taxi driver and have an income of 140% or less of the standard median income. Applications can be made at any time through the KakaoTalk Plus Friends channel ‘Safe support for medical livelihood for taxi drivers’ until October of next year. All you have to do is submit related documents such as hospital medical certificates and proof of taxi driver status.
Those eligible for support will be selected through a monthly qualification review by a screening committee comprised of five experts in the medical welfare and medical field. Once support is confirmed, each recipient will be individually notified. Related consultations can be made through the KakaoTalk Plus Friend channel, ‘Taxi Driver Medical Livelihood Safety Support’.
Ryu Geung-seon, CEO of Kakao Mobility, said, “This ‘Safe Support for Taxi Drivers’ Medical Livelihood’ was prepared as part of a practical support plan for mobility platform workers who are in crisis due to the prolonged COVID-19 and deepening economic recession.” He added, “Platform workers “As we use various platforms simultaneously, we hope that this support project will be the starting point of creating a virtuous cycle of improving treatment for workers in the industry.”
Meanwhile, Kakao Mobility is the first platform taxi company to introduce and operate a ‘security insurance’ system for Kakao T brand taxis and Pro Membership drivers to guarantee the safety and health rights of taxi drivers. Through this, we are helping taxi drivers focus on driving in a safe working environment by paying compensation, surgery, and treatment costs in case of damage such as assault or injury that may occur while driving.
Source: Pangyo Techno Valley Official Newsroom
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