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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.
伦敦——韩国当局指控共乘租车服务Uber违反了当地的许可证法规，对该公司首席执行官特拉维斯·卡兰尼克(Travis Kalanick)提起了诉讼。这是Uber在其全球扩张进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.
虽然Uber在世界各地面临着越来越多的法律挑战，但其首席执行官被指控违反了交管法规，这应该还是第一次。
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.
这也是韩国当局对Uber采取的日益严厉的行动之一。全球各地的很多其他立法者已经在竭力遏制Uber的发展。
“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.”
“一些国家正在采取严厉举措，因为他们不认可Uber的经营方式，”科技调研企业加州高德纳咨询公司(Gartner Research)汽车业首席分析师蒂洛·科斯洛夫斯基(Thilo Koslowski)说。“Uber喜欢横冲直闯地进入新市场，但现在当他们进入一个新国家时，将不得不更多地与当局进行合作。”
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.
韩国联合通讯社(Yonhap)本周三表示，因为许可证法规禁止汽车租赁公司经营出租车业务，首尔的检察官对卡兰尼克及其韩国汽车租赁合作伙伴MK Korea的负责人提起了诉讼。该项罪名面临最高两年的监禁和约1.8万美元（约合人民币11万元）的罚款。
On Wednesday, Uber said it had not violated South Korean law, adding that its services had been well-received in that market.
本周三，Uber表示自己没有违反韩国法律，并称其服务在韩国市场受到了欢迎。
“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.”
“我们有信心，韩国法院会对此案做出公平合理的裁决，”该公司的声明称。“当局试图惩罚靠这个服务来谋生的司机，Uber认为此举不妥。”
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.
该公司发言人表示，他无法对这一起诉予以证实，因为公司还没有收到起诉书。首尔的检察官则是无法联络到。
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
据韩联社报道，尽管Uber首席执行官遭到起诉，该公司仍将在韩国继续经营业务。Uber之前也在一些城市面临禁令和罚款，但它在对这些决定进行上诉的同时，仍在这些城市继续运营。
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.
该公司成立于2009年，总部位于旧金山，目前在五大洲近250个城市开展业务。公司估值约为400亿美元，与通用汽车公司(General Motors)大致相当。
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积极进取的扩张计划遭遇了阻碍，因为很多国家的政策制定者和出租车司机都反对它，说它没有相应的经营许可证，与本地出租车服务开展竞争是不公平的。反对者给这家快速成长的公司制造了一大难题，而且还可能带来财务风险。
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.
在美国，加州的两名地方检察官对Uber提起了民事诉讼，指控该公司在司机筛选方法上对消费者进行误导。马萨诸塞州的检察官日前指控一名Uber司机性侵一名想打车的女子。
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与俄勒冈州波特兰市政府达成协议：Uber暂停其业务，当地官员则考虑立法来让该公司合法经营。
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.
在欧洲，柏林和阿姆斯特丹等城市已禁止了Uber的低成本服务UberPop，并对一些继续载客的Uber司机处以罚款。在伦敦和米兰等城市，上万名出租车司机走上街头抗议Uber服务。
Uber says it will appeal any legal rulings against it.
Uber表示，将对任何限制它的法律裁决提起上诉。
“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.”
“欧洲各地发生的所有这些事件表明，Uber进军的是欧洲监管最严格的行业之一，”在韩国起诉书公布之前，Uber西欧地区总经理皮埃尔-迪米特利·戈尔-科蒂(Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty)在采访中说。“大家应该接受Uber；它对消费者是有益的。”
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司机本月被控性侵之后，该公司对司机背景的调查工作也受到了人们的严密审视。德里当局随后禁止Uber在当地经营业务。
“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.
“如果乘客或司机方面存在安全担忧，该公司可能会遭受沉重打击，”高德纳的科斯洛夫斯基说。
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.
本周，中国重庆市政府表示正在调查Uber是否可以在当地合法经营。台湾交通运输部称，正在考虑是否要屏蔽该公司的网站和移动应用。
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.
这不是韩国当局第一次把矛头指向Uber了。首尔政府表示，它正在考虑取缔Uber这样的服务，因为它们没有在当地经营业务所需的许可证。
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.
市政府官员已经同意，对那些向当局提供该行业潜在非法活动信息的爆料者，提供约值900美元的奖励。这是取缔行动的措施之一。
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本次遇挫的一周之前，中国搜索引擎百度表示已对这家美国公司进行了投资。一位知情人士称，这宗交易涉及的美元金额数以亿元计。该知情人士没有获得公开发言的授权，因此不愿具名。
