Ulsan Electric Vehicle 'Public Fast Charging' Free Service Ends... Ulsan City to Implement Paid Service from New Year's Day

Ulsan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The electric vehicle public rapid chargers operated by Ulsan City will be converted to paid service starting next year.

According to Ulsan City, there are currently 313 public rapid chargers for electric vehicles installed in the Ulsan area, of which 28 chargers (21 locations) installed, managed, and operated by Ulsan City were all free to use.

However, chargers installed by the Ministry of Environment, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), and private operators have all been operated on a paid basis, and due to the concentration of use on city-operated chargers, charging wait times have lengthened and frequent breakdowns caused by overloads have occurred, causing difficulties in use and management.

There were also criticisms that free operation does not align with the user-pays principle and issues of fairness with other operators who run paid services were raised.

Ulsan City decided to convert the chargers to paid service starting January next year to secure the user-pays principle and enable more effective maintenance and management.

The charging fees will be the same as those for public rapid chargers operated by the Ministry of Environment: 292.9 KRW per 1 kWh for 50kW chargers and 309.1 KRW per 1 kWh for 100kW chargers.

An official from Ulsan City said, “We decided to implement paid charging to effectively maintain and manage electric vehicle chargers.”

The chargers managed by Ulsan City include 28 units such as those at Beonyeong-ro Public Parking Lot, mainly located at government offices. Detailed locations and information about the chargers can be found on the Zero Emission Vehicle Integrated Website.