Organizing 3 enforcement teams for 25 districts, deploying 1 full team per district
Conducting net-style enforcement across 3 districts daily, alongside tracking and cracking down on illegal vehicles
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 21st that it will conduct a joint special crackdown on habitual delinquent vehicles and ghost cars in cooperation with 25 autonomous districts until the end of June. The 25 districts will be divided into three teams, with enforcement squads formed accordingly, and one full team will be deployed to each district. Three teams will patrol three districts per day in a comprehensive net-like manner.
Each district will form an enforcement squad consisting of at least one vehicle and two personnel. On the designated day, the squads will gather at the district scheduled for enforcement, receive assigned patrol areas under the leadership of the respective district, and conduct enforcement from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The patrol will cover everything from major roads to small alleys, including parking lots of apartments and buildings, without omission.
According to Seoul City, among 336,000 vehicles with unpaid automobile taxes, 127,000 vehicles registered within the last 30 years and not deleted from the registration records were analyzed. The analysis revealed that 58,000 vehicles are habitual delinquent vehicles with four or more unpaid automobile tax installments, and 43,000 vehicles are suspected ghost cars registered under deceased persons or closed corporations.
A Seoul city official stated, “The main targets of this special crackdown are vehicles with four or more unpaid automobile tax installments or those suspected to be ghost cars. Based on pre-investigated data, we will focus patrols on areas where such vehicles are likely to be found.”
Among the 43,000 suspected ghost cars, 37,000 vehicles, accounting for 86%, are operating on the roads without even mandatory insurance, posing a ticking time bomb threatening citizens’ safety. Analysis based on vehicle registration and operation information shows that the main operating areas of these suspected ghost cars are Seoul and Gyeonggi regions, accounting for 46% among the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide.
During this special crackdown period, if a ghost car is detected, it will be immediately seized and towed regardless of the number of unpaid installments. The operator’s identification will be checked to investigate the vehicle acquisition process, and the police will be contacted to verify whether the vehicle is involved in criminal activity. If a ghost car is caught on site, attempts will be made to contact the occupant to hand over any items inside the vehicle before towing, or items will be handed over at the vehicle storage facility after towing.
However, vehicles owned by self-employed individuals or small business owners who have suffered losses due to COVID-19 and use the vehicles for livelihood purposes will be exempt from enforcement. For self-employed individuals or small business owners, even if there are unpaid taxes, if they submit a prior application for temporary release from seizure or complete and submit such an application at the enforcement site, their license plates will be returned.
Lee Byung-wook, Director of the 38th Tax Collection Division of Seoul City, said, “This special crackdown on habitual delinquent vehicles for automobile tax is a measure to prevent citizens from suffering damages caused by ghost cars that have become rampant during the COVID-19 period. It will contribute to creating a healthy and safe Seoul.” He added, “We will continue to strengthen cooperation and information exchange between local governments, propose legal amendments, and make ongoing efforts to prevent habitual delinquent vehicles and ghost cars from gaining a foothold.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
