Gwangju City Hall Disabled Parking Spaces Occupied by Official and Staff Vehicles

Public Officials Lack Awareness... City to "Guide and Manage Wrongdoings"

A company car and employee vehicles are illegally parked in the disabled parking spaces on the basement level 1 of Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Although nationwide crackdowns on illegal parking in disabled parking spaces are being strengthened, illegal parking by public officials is rampant in government office parking lots where enforcement does not reach.

Public officials, who should take the lead in eradicating illegal parking in disabled parking spaces, are instead committing violations.

At around 2 p.m. on the 21st, two vehicles were parked in a disabled parking space installed on one side of the underground first-floor parking lot of Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall.

Looking at the front windshield, there was no ‘disabled parking permit.’ These two vehicles were confirmed to be a government vehicle operated by Gwangju City Hall and an employee’s vehicle, both of which are not allowed to park in disabled-only zones.

Although it is a place not frequently used by external visitors such as civil petitioners, this indirectly reveals the lack of awareness among public officials regarding disabled parking spaces.

The underground parking lot of Gwangju City Hall has 239 spaces on the first floor and 243 spaces on the second floor. Among these, there are 17 disabled parking spaces.

Since it is not a place with frequent external access, enforcement does not reach here. If illegal parking in disabled-only zones occurs, photos can be taken and reported, but since they are fellow public officials, such actions are not usually taken, according to an official.

One public official frowned and said, “Parking is so difficult that I often circle two or three times looking for an empty spot, but parking in disabled-only parking spaces is a serious problem. Moreover, it is unacceptable that the illegally parked vehicles are government vehicles and belong to public officials.”

An official from the building management team, which manages the parking lot, said, “It was confirmed that an employee, after using a government vehicle for a business trip, had to come back urgently and parked in a disabled-only parking space while looking for an empty spot. Regardless of the reason, illegal parking in disabled parking spaces is wrong.”

He added, “We will once again provide guidance to all public officials and manage the situation to prevent such incidents from happening again.”

Meanwhile, non-disabled persons who park in disabled-only parking spaces are fined 100,000 won.