Illegal Parking Lot at Lotte Gwangju World Cup Branch: 49 Cases of Overnight Parking Detected

Seogu Traffic Department Conducts Late-Night Parking Lot Inspections... Fines Totaling 9.8 Million KRW Imposed

Employees of the Traffic Guidance Division at Seo-gu Office in Gwangju Metropolitan City are cracking down on illegally overnight parked vehicles in the parking lot of Lotte Outlet·Mart Gwangju World Cup Branch in the early morning of the 2nd.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shin Dong-ho] Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, has taken strict measures against large supermarket parking lots where habitual illegal parking is repeated.

According to Seo-gu on the 2nd, three employees from the Traffic Guidance Division conducted on-site inspections at the Lotte Outlet·Mart Gwangju World Cup Branch parking lot from midnight to 4 a.m. that day.

As a result, 49 large freight vehicles and buses were caught violating the Passenger Transport Service Act, and a total fine of 9.8 million KRW was imposed. This amount may be reduced depending on future appeals.

Under current law, if commercial vehicles park in places other than their garages from midnight to 4 a.m., administrative penalties such as fines ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 KRW per vehicle or suspension of operation for up to six months may be imposed depending on the vehicle type.

Commercial vehicles do not only take advantage of the early morning hours. There are also many cases where they use the parking lot unauthorizedly all day long as a garage. This is why shopping mall customers complain about inconvenience.

As of last month, about 400 out of a total of 1,905 ground parking spaces, accounting for approximately 20%, were occupied without permission.

Given this situation, serious parking difficulties often occur on weekends when an average of 11,000 people visit daily.

Unlike 1-ton trucks, large freight vehicles and buses occupy two or more parking spaces, reminiscent of "holiday traffic jams on highways."

Due to the difficulty in securing visibility around large vehicles, contact accidents between customers sometimes occur, causing considerable damage.

A citizen named Kim, who frequently visits the supermarket, said, "The problem of illegal long-term parking keeps recurring, and there are many customer complaints. I hope the administrative authorities actively step in to restore traffic order."

Meanwhile, Lotte Shopping signed a contract with Gwangju City in 2007 to use the parking lot for 20 years and pays an annual lease fee of 4.58 billion KRW.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shin Dong-ho sdhs6751@asiae.co.kr