The chief executive of the global mobility platform Uber said Friday the company sees South Korea as a vitally important market, stating his commitment to growing the company's taxi business here. "Korea is a large taxi market, and one with strong market opportunity and growing e-hail penetration," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at a press conference in Seoul. Khosrowshahi said Uber saw the number of trips on its Korean platform grow by double digits every month since the company rebranded the app as "Uber Taxi" in March, mainly thanks to a sharp increase in use by international travelers visiting the country. Uber had originally used the name "UT" for its ride-hailing app here, operating the app through a joint venture with TMAP Mobility Co., a mobility subsidiary of South Korea's leading telecommunications firm SK Telecom Co. Khosrowshahi also said Uber is working to build ties with many Korean companies, including automakers, to foster more cooperation in the electric and autonomous vehicle industry, a key pillar of Uber's business strategy for the future. "While it won't happen overnight, we expect autonomous vehicles to be an increasingly important part of the transportation ecosystem," he said. "Our strategy is to collaborate with partners to offer a diverse range of autonomous services across different regions." Source: Yonhap News Agency