Seoul City Sees Sharp Increase in Electric Vehicle Charging Obstruction Cases... Fines Across Seoul from August

From January This Year, 'Eco-Friendly Vehicle Act' Amendment Enforced... Monthly Detection of Charging Obstruction Incidents Up 17 Times
Reports Possible via 'Seoul Smart Bulpyeon Report App', Mobile Apps, Dasan Call Center, and District Offices

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Since January of this year, the scope of crackdowns on electric vehicle (EV) charger obstruction has been expanded to include all facilities where EV chargers are installed, resulting in a 17-fold increase in the average monthly number of violations detected compared to before the enforcement.

According to Seoul City on the 30th, the most common violation among reported cases was ‘parking internal combustion engine vehicles in charging zones,’ accounting for about 76%, while other obstruction behaviors such as parking beyond the required charging time made up the remaining 24%. The locations where violations most frequently occurred were apartments, followed by public parking lots (parks, etc.) and office facilities.

Reports of EV charger obstruction can be made via mobile apps such as ‘Seoul Smart Complaint’ and ‘People’s Report (Safety Report),’ or by calling the 120 Dasan Call Center or the environmental department of the relevant autonomous district office. If the reported case is judged to be a clear violation, a fine of up to 200,000 KRW will be imposed.

Starting in July, the imposition of fines for obstruction of charging will be expanded to 19 autonomous districts, and from August, fines will be imposed in all autonomous districts.

Meanwhile, Seoul City plans to produce and distribute an ‘EV Charger Obstruction Crackdown Manual’ to unify the different enforcement standards across autonomous districts.

Kim Jeong-seon, Director of Climate Change Response at Seoul City, said, “As the supply of electric vehicles increases, reports of EV charger obstruction are also rising,” and added, “We ask vehicle owners for their active participation and consideration to establish a mature EV charging culture.”