South Korea's most-used taxi-hailing application, KakaoT, will begin its first pay-for-use feature on Tuesday, based on artificial intelligence(AI) to help passengers catch cabs faster.

The app's developer, Kakao Mobility, said Tuesday that passengers who use the new "smart call" hailing function will have their requests directed to drivers who are more likely to accept their calls.

The company says an AI system will match the passengers and drivers based on three years' worth of accumulated data on customers' calls, driving patterns, traffic conditions and more. 

The price has been set at one-thousand won per call after weeks of protest from taxi unions and disapproval from government bodies over rumors that the paid option would cost up to five-thousand won.