Uber 首席執行官被韓國起訴

LONDON — In another roadblock to Uber’s global expansion, the authorities in South Korea have indicted Travis Kalanick, the chief executive of the ride-booking company, on charges that Uber violated local licensing laws.

倫敦——韓國當局指控共乘租車服務Uber違反了當地的許可證法規，對該公司首席執行官特拉維斯·卡蘭尼克(Travis Kalanick)提起了訴訟。這是Uber在其全球擴張進程中遭遇的又一路障。

While Uber has faced a growing number of legal challenges across the globe, this is believed to be the first time the company’s chief executive has been charged with violating transportation laws.

雖然Uber在世界各地面臨着越來越多的法律挑戰，但其首席執行官被指控違反了交管法規，這應該還是第一次。

It also is part of an increasingly tough approach taken by the South Korean authorities against the ride-booking service after other lawmakers worldwide have struggled to rein in Uber.

這也是韓國當局對Uber採取的日益嚴厲的行動之一。全球各地的很多其他立法者已經在竭力遏制Uber的發展。

“Some countries are taking a harsh line because they don’t agree with how Uber goes about its business,” said Thilo Koslowski, head of the automotive practice at the technology research company Gartner Research in California. “Uber has a tendency to punch its way into new markets, but they will have to start working more with authorities when they enter a new country.”

“一些國家正在採取嚴厲舉措，因爲他們不認可Uber的經營方式，”科技調研企業加州高德納諮詢公司(Gartner Research)汽車業首席分析師蒂洛·科斯洛夫斯基(Thilo Koslowski)說。“Uber喜歡橫衝直闖地進入新市場，但現在當他們進入一個新國家時，將不得不更多地與當局進行合作。”

Prosecutors in Seoul indicted Mr. Kalanick, as well as the head of the company’s South Korean car-rental partner, MK Korea, in connection with licensing laws that forbid rental car companies from operating taxi services, the South Korean news agency Yonhap said on Wednesday. The charges have a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a fine of about $18,000.

韓國聯合通訊社(Yonhap)本週三表示，因爲許可證法規禁止汽車租賃公司經營出租車業務，首爾的檢察官對卡蘭尼克及其韓國汽車租賃合作伙伴MK Korea的負責人提起了訴訟。該項罪名面臨最高兩年的監禁和約1.8萬美元（約合人民幣11萬元）的罰款。

On Wednesday, Uber said it had not violated South Korean law, adding that its services had been well-received in that market.

本週三，Uber表示自己沒有違反韓國法律，並稱其服務在韓國市場受到了歡迎。

“We are confident that the Korean court will uphold a fair and sensible judgment on this case,” the company said in a statement. “Uber does not believe it is appropriate for authorities to seek to punish drivers who are trying to make a living through this service.”

“我們有信心，韓國法院會對此案做出公平合理的裁決，”該公司的聲明稱。“當局試圖懲罰靠這個服務來謀生的司機，Uber認爲此舉不妥。”

A spokesman for the company said he could not confirm the specific charges because it had not received the indictment. The prosecutors in Seoul could not be reached.

該公司發言人表示，他無法對這一起訴予以證實，因爲公司還沒有收到起訴書。首爾的檢察官則是無法聯絡到。

Uber will continue to operate in South Korea despite the charges against its chief executive, Yonhap reported. In previous legal disputes with cities in which Uber faced bans and fines, the company has also kept its operations going while it appealed those decisions

據韓聯社報道，儘管Uber首席執行官遭到起訴，該公司仍將在韓國繼續經營業務。Uber之前也在一些城市面臨禁令和罰款，但它在對這些決定進行上訴的同時，仍在這些城市繼續運營。

Founded in 2009, the San Francisco-based company now operates in almost 250 cities on five continents. It has a value of roughly $40 billion, almost the same as General Motors.

該公司成立於2009年，總部位於舊金山，目前在五大洲近250個城市開展業務。公司估值約爲400億美元，與通用汽車公司(General Motors)大致相當。

Yet Uber’s aggressive plans for expansion have been plagued by opposition from policy makers — and taxi drivers — in a number of countries who say it operates without the appropriate licenses and is unfair competition for local taxi associations. The opposition is becoming a major headache, and potential financial risk, for the fast-growing company.

然而，Uber積極進取的擴張計劃遭遇了阻礙，因爲很多國家的政策制定者和出租車司機都反對它，說它沒有相應的經營許可證，與本地出租車服務開展競爭是不公平的。反對者給這家快速成長的公司製造了一大難題，而且還可能帶來財務風險。

In the United States, two California district attorneys have filed a civil suit against the company, charging that Uber misled consumers about the methods it uses to screen its drivers. Prosecutors in Massachusetts recently charged an Uber driver with the sexual assault of a woman who had been seeking a ride.

在美國，加州的兩名地方檢察官對Uber提起了民事訴訟，指控該公司在司機篩選方法上對消費者進行誤導。馬薩諸塞州的檢察官日前指控一名Uber司機性侵一名想打車的女子。

This month, Uber reached an agreement with the authorities in Portland, Ore., to temporarily suspend its operations there while local officials considered legislation that would allow the company to operate legally.

本月，Uber與俄勒岡州波特蘭市政府達成協議：Uber暫停其業務，當地官員則考慮立法來讓該公司合法經營。

In Europe, several cities, including Berlin and Amsterdam, have banned Uber’s low-cost service, UberPop, and have levied fines against some Uber drivers who continue to pick up passengers. More than 10,000 taxi drivers in cities including London and Milan also took to the streets to protest the company’s services.

在歐洲，柏林和阿姆斯特丹等城市已禁止了Uber的低成本服務UberPop，並對一些繼續載客的Uber司機處以罰款。在倫敦和米蘭等城市，上萬名出租車司機走上街頭抗議Uber服務。

Uber says it will appeal any legal rulings against it.

Uber表示，將對任何限制它的法律裁決提起上訴。

“All the episodes across Europe show that Uber is taking on one of the most regulated industries out there,” Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber’s regional general manager for Western Europe, said before the South Korean indictment was made public. “Uber should be embraced; it’s good for consumers.”

“歐洲各地發生的所有這些事件表明，Uber進軍的是歐洲監管最嚴格的行業之一，”在韓國起訴書公佈之前，Uber西歐地區總經理皮埃爾-迪米特利·戈爾-科蒂(Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty)在採訪中說。“大家應該接受Uber；它對消費者是有益的。”

The company’s background checks of drivers have also come under scrutiny after an Uber driver in India was accused this month of sexual assault. The authorities in the Delhi region subsequently banned Uber’s operations there.

印度的一名Uber司機本月被控性侵之後，該公司對司機背景的調查工作也受到了人們的嚴密審視。德里當局隨後禁止Uber在當地經營業務。

“If there are safety concerns for either passenger or drivers, that could lead to a strong backlash against the company,” said Mr. Koslowski of Gartner.

“如果乘客或司機方面存在安全擔憂，該公司可能會遭受沉重打擊，”高德納的科斯洛夫斯基說。

This week, the authorities in the Chinese city of Chongqing said they were investigating whether Uber could operate there legally, and Taiwan’s Transportation Ministry said it was weighing whether to block the company’s website and mobile applications.

本週，中國重慶市政府表示正在調查Uber是否可以在當地合法經營。臺灣交通運輸部稱，正在考慮是否要屏蔽該公司的網站和移動應用。

This is not the first time the South Korean authorities have taken aim at Uber. The local government in Seoul has said it was considering outlawing services like Uber because they did not have the licenses required to operate there.

這不是韓國當局第一次把矛頭指向Uber了。首爾政府表示，它正在考慮取締Uber這樣的服務，因爲它們沒有在當地經營業務所需的許可證。

As part of the clampdown, city officials approved a reward equivalent to roughly $900 for those who provide the local authorities with information about potential illegal activities in the sector.

市政府官員已經同意，對那些向當局提供該行業潛在非法活動信息的爆料者，提供約值900美元的獎勵。這是取締行動的措施之一。

The new pushback against Uber comes a week after the Chinese search engine Baidu said it had invested in the American company. That deal is said to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

在Uber本次遇挫的一週之前，中國搜索引擎百度表示已對這家美國公司進行了投資。一位知情人士稱，這宗交易涉及的美元金額數以億元計。該知情人士沒有獲得公開發言的授權，因此不願具名。