Ryu Geung-seon, CEO of Kakao Mobility, speaks during an online press conference April 7. Kakao Mobility said Thursday it will begin offering local ride-hailing services in seven Southeast Asian countries by partnering up with global mobility platform provider Splyt Technologies. Yonhap

Kakao Mobility, Korea's leading taxi-hailing company, said Thursday it will begin offering local ride-hailing services in seven Southeast Asian countries by partnering up with global mobility platform provider Splyt Technologies.

Through the partnership, users of the company's Kakao T application will be able to access local mobility services in Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia through its roaming service.

Kakao Mobility first introduced its overseas roaming service in Japan in 2018.

The app will provide automatic translation messaging functionalities to facilitate smooth communication between users and drivers. Users will be charged an extra roaming fee in addition to the regular local service cost.

Shin Dong-hoon, head of Kakao Mobility's Mobility-as-a-Service division, said, the company has secured a "cornerstone of opportunity to grow into a global mobility platform" through the partnership.

Kakao Mobility was spun off from Kakao, the operator of Korea's most-used messenger KakaoTalk, in August 2017 and operates as a separate entity. (Yonhap)