'Be Careful'... Pohang City Imposes Fines for Illegal Parking in Electric Vehicle-Only Zones

From the 28th, fines up to 200,000 won without warning

Notice of Amendments Announcement.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Pohang City announced on the 10th that starting January 28, fines will be imposed immediately without guidance or warning if residents report parking violations or charging obstruction acts in electric vehicle exclusive parking zones (charging facilities).

Prior to this, the city has been conducting an administrative notice from December 28 last year to January 17 to inform residents in advance about the reporting requirements for charging obstruction acts in exclusive parking zones reported through the Safety Report app.

The ‘Safety Report Resident Reporting System’ is a system under the ‘Act on the Development and Promotion of Environmentally Friendly Automobiles’ that allows residents to report parking violations or charging obstruction acts in electric vehicle exclusive parking zones (charging facilities) through the ‘Safety Report app’ with photos or videos taken at intervals of at least one minute that clearly prove the obstruction.

The enforcement targets include parking of general vehicles in exclusive parking zones (charging facilities), loading objects on the access road within charging facilities, continuous parking of electric vehicles or plug-in hybrid vehicles in charging zones (over 1 hour for rapid charging, 14 hours for slow charging), loading and parking objects in and around charging zones and access roads, using charging facilities for purposes other than charging, intentional damage to exclusive parking zones and charging facilities, and parking internal combustion engine vehicles in exclusive parking zones. Charging must be done only in exclusive parking zones (charging facilities). Violations are subject to fines ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 KRW.

Considering the early stage of law enforcement, to raise awareness of eco-friendly vehicle charging obstruction and exclusive parking violations and to establish the system, the first two reports from apartment complexes were granted a one-year grace period without fines and only guidance starting last year. From January 28, fines up to 200,000 KRW will be imposed immediately if reporting requirements are met.

According to Pohang City, a total of 1,450 complaints, including guidance and warnings, have been received through the National Report System since last year, and fines totaling 8 million KRW were imposed on 95 cases.

The Ministry of Environment (Korea Environment Corporation) announced that from January 2 to June 30, anyone can apply for shared slow chargers for electric vehicles needed in apartment complexes through the Zero-Emission Vehicle Integrated Website.

Accordingly, applications for installing slow chargers for electric vehicles, which were previously only possible by private charging operators, can now be submitted directly by apartment resident representatives.

Applicants wishing to install shared slow chargers for electric vehicles can access ‘Zero-Emission Vehicle Integrated Website ? Direct Application’ and select 1 to 3 preferred project operators to apply.

A building register is required when applying, and to prevent false applications, if the applicant is not the building owner or resident representative, a consent form or meeting minutes signed by more than 80% of residents must be attached.

Complaints about inconvenience in using electric vehicle charging facilities that received subsidies from the Ministry of Environment for charging infrastructure can be reported through the ‘QR code’ attached to the charger via the Zero-Emission Vehicle Integrated Website ? Participation Plaza’s Complaint Center, and private charging operators will receive and handle the reports.

Shinjeong Hyuk, Director of Environmental Policy Division, said, “We ask for active cooperation from citizens to establish proper electric vehicle charging order to eradicate charging obstruction acts and ensure efficient use of exclusive parking (charging facility) zones.”