Public Officials' Illegal Parking Rampant Inside Government Buildings... No Enforcement
Citizen: "No Parking Space, Have to Circle Several Times"
On the afternoon of the 8th, illegally parked vehicles lined up near the entrance stairs of the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education Information Center located in Seo-gu, Gwangju.
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] The ‘crossing the line’ parking behavior of employees affiliated with the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education is drawing criticism.
Although the chronic problem of insufficient parking spaces in government offices persists, it has been pointed out that it is excessive for a high-ranking public official, who should set an example, to habitually park illegally near entrances frequently used by visitors due to concerns about door dings.
On the afternoon of the 8th, in front of the Gwangju Education Information Center building, a subordinate organization of the Metropolitan Office of Education, four vehicles including a large sports utility vehicle (SUV), the Palisade, were parked side by side along one side of the entrance stairs used by visitors.
The SUV was confirmed to be the vehicle of a high-ranking official of the Metropolitan Office of Education.
It was understood that since the Metropolitan Office of Education and the Education Information Center are located in different buildings within the same compound, the official illegally parked here when the main office parking lot was full.
According to the Metropolitan Office of Education, there are 509 employees stationed at the main office and the Education Information Center. The parking spaces are 45 at the Metropolitan Office of Education and 186 at the Education Information Center.
Since the buildings are old, the parking lots are severely insufficient.
However, the place where the high-ranking official parked was clearly a pedestrian passage connected to the entrance of the Education Information Center.
Given this situation, the inconvenience inevitably fell on visitors and other employees.
Because some vehicles were parked as close as possible to the lower part of the stairs, detours to avoid them became frequent.
Despite complaints about illegal parking, the officials did not pay attention and only moved their cars at the end of the workday.
This reveals a lapse in discipline among some public officials who prioritize their own convenience or benefit over the discomfort of visitors.
A visitor to the Education Information Center said, “Because there is no parking space inside the government office, I had no choice but to park outside, but seeing cars blatantly parked at an entrance where people walk makes me think, ‘Am I the foolish one?’” and added, “Do you think some people just want to park anywhere because of a brief visit and are just driving around the parking lot?”
In response, the Metropolitan Office of Education admitted that parking management is not being conducted at all.
An official from the Metropolitan Office of Education said, “Before COVID-19, we enforced a two-day vehicle restriction system to reduce fine dust and cracked down on illegal parking, but now that the system has been lifted, we are not managing parking,” and added, “We will take measures to ensure that visitors are not inconvenienced by employees’ illegal parking.”
The high-ranking official caught illegally parking at the Metropolitan Office of Education explained, “If there were vehicles obstructing traffic, I shouldn’t have parked here, but since it didn’t seem to significantly interfere with other vehicles, I parked here,” and said, “The parking spaces are narrow and the vehicle is large, so I was concerned about door dings. There are many cases of double parking, but when I had to go on urgent business trips, the process of calling and waiting was cumbersome.”
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