Travis Kalanick, the CEO of Uber, the controversial ride-sharing service, and its South Korean unit have been indicted by the government for violating transport laws in the country.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office issued a statement saying that the company and its CEO were offering their services in the country against a law that prohibited firms or individuals without appropriate licences from operating.
While the government didn't comment further, Uber said: "Uber Technologies respects the Korean legal system and will provide its full cooperation."
"We firmly believe that our service, which connects drivers and riders via an application, is not only legal in Korea, but that it is being welcomed and supported by consumers," it added.
This is the second hurdle in Seoul for Uber.
Last week, the city decided to impose a fine on unregistered Uber drivers who drove around without appropriate licenses. The city also announced a financial reward for people who reported such kind of drivers.
Uber launched in Seoul despite government warnings. At that time, the city said that even though there was growing support for Uber in the country, it would have to abide by the laws of the nation.
While it is unclear if Kalanick will appear in a South Korean court, this definitely seems to be another blow to Uber's reputation.
Kalanick isn't the first Uber official to come under judicial or public glare. Earlier, Uber's senior vice president Emil Michael was caught making offensive and hostile comments towards journalists at a dinner party. Josh Mohrer, general manager of Uber New York was also investigated for "stalking" on the company's exclusive tool called "God View."
Uber came under fire after one of its drivers told a customer battling cancer that she deserved to be sick. The company has also been accused of promoting misogyny marketing its rides with taglines like "free rides with beautiful women."
More recently, it was also ridiculed for its "surge pricing" strategy during the Sydney Siege incident where it was charging customers four times the normal fare to leave the area where the gunman was holding the hostages.
"The events of last week in Sydney were upsetting for the whole community and we are truly sorry for any concern that our process may have added. We didn't stop surge pricing immediately. This was the wrong decision," said the company.
"The events of last week in Sydney were upsetting for the whole community and we are truly sorry for any concern that our process may have added. We didn't stop surge pricing immediately. This was the wrong decision," it added.
