[THE INVESTOR] Uber’s cofounder and CEO Travis Kalanick has again asked a Seoul court to postpone a trial slated for June 29 over the company's illegal taxi-hailing service that was suspended here in 2014. 

The Uber chief was expected to appear at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul after he was indicted on the charges. His legal represntative, the nation's top law firm Kim & Chang, had asked the court to designate a hearing date earlier this month.

Established in 2009, Uber entered the Korean market in 2013 but was forced to stop its service, except its luxury limousine service, due to fierce resistance from taxi drivers and the local authorities. 


In December 2014, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office also indicted the Uber chief and the head of MK Korea, a rental-car service operator, on charges of violating a local transportation law.

A Seoul court had asked Kalanick to stand trial several times in recent months but he has declined to attend citing private issues. 

MK Korea, which was to receive 20 percent fees from Uber for renting cars, was recently sentenced with a mere 2 million won ($1,700) fine on the same charges. 

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)