Increase in Habitual Toll Evasion Vehicles
Collection Rate Only 49.8% Over 5 Years
Kim Byung-wook, Head of the Functional Headquarters of the Democratic Party of Korea's Presidential Campaign Committee. / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] It has been revealed that the number of vehicles not paying Hi-Pass tolls continues to increase.
According to data on the "Status of Vehicles Habitually Failing to Pay Hi-Pass Toll More Than 20 Times Annually," submitted on the 30th by the Korea Expressway Corporation to Kim Byung-wook, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea (Seongnam Bundang-eul), the number of habitual non-paying vehicles nationwide over the past five years has been counted at 700,000.
The total number of unauthorized passings over five years reached 29.1 million, and among the unpaid amount of 69.8 billion KRW (excluding additional toll fees), some is still being collected.
The number of vehicles habitually failing to pay tolls is steadily increasing. Habitual non-paying vehicles numbered 120,000 in 2018 but jumped to 170,000 last year. As of August this year, the number of habitual non-payment cases (120,000 vehicles) and toll fees (12 billion KRW) are at levels similar to the 2018 statistics.
The problem is that even after vehicle seizures, the collection rate is less than half. Over the past five years, 1.56 million vehicles have been seized. Of the unpaid amount including additional toll fees totaling 102.8 billion KRW for seized vehicles, only 51.2 billion KRW has been collected, resulting in a collection rate of just 49.8% over five years.
In particular, among the seized vehicles, 352 vehicles were auctioned, with unpaid amounts of 2.5 billion KRW, but only 104 million KRW was collected, resulting in a collection rate of merely 4%. The toll claims are distributed at the lowest priority during auctions, which significantly lowers the collection rate.
In response, Assemblyman Kim Byung-wook said, "While there may be cases of simple mistakes or unjust situations, the number of vehicles habitually abusing the convenience of the 'free pass' and those being seized and auctioned continues to rise," adding, "Stronger measures must be taken to prevent innocent citizens from suffering due to vehicles that persistently neglect toll payments without concern."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
