“I understand holding protests, but the roads in Yeouido are too congested because of the protesters. I'm driving by looking at the navigation, but if I get stuck among the protesters since the sections controlled by the police are not well reflected, I have to wait a long time to get out.”
This is what a taxi driver said while passing through Yeouido, where rallies have been held daily from noon to night since the 'martial law declaration incident.' In addition to the National Assembly and political party headquarters, Yeouido is home to branches of commercial banks, state-run banks, credit card companies, and corporations, hence there are many passengers who take taxis, but the navigation is criticized for not functioning properly.
A taxi driver, Han (60), who was met in Yeouido on the 12th, had to detour as the police managing the protest site blocked the way in front of the People Power Party headquarters. Han said, “Usually (the navigation) reflects congestion due to construction or accidents well, but it seems that protests are not reflected.” The protests reported to the police were not reflected in the route guidance.
Upon checking the navigation 'Tmap', the 'scheduled rally' information provided by the Korean National Police Agency was listed. At the time when a protest was actually taking place in front of the People Power Party headquarters, when I received route guidance through Tmap, it instructed me to pass the road in front of the headquarters without detouring.
Some taxi drivers do not take passengers with Yeouido as the destination. Taxi driver Lee (77) said, “If the car gets stuck due to a protest when I'm almost to the drop-off point, 80-90% of the passengers get off and walk from there,” adding, “Taxis end up stuck on the road, so only the driver suffers a loss, which is why I tend to avoid going to Yeouido.”
A representative from Tmobility, which operates Tmap, noted, “All rallies, including candlelight protests urging the impeachment of President Yoon, as well as construction, are displayed on the navigation based on information from the police and local governments, with changes reflected as they occur,” adding, “In cases such as recent impeachment rallies where the number of participants is uncertain, real-time updates may be challenging.”