An Empty Spot in the Department Store Parking Lot with Only a Bag... "I Took Charge"

A middle-aged woman caused controversy by throwing her bag onto an empty parking spot in a department store parking lot to reserve the space and saying, "I came first." Recently, as the issue of reserving parking spaces has arisen in various places such as villas, apartments, and commercial street parking lots, opinions have emerged that legal grounds are needed regarding parking obstruction acts.

A middle-aged woman threw her bag into an empty parking space.
Photo by BobaeDream

On the 10th, a post titled "Is it possible to reserve a parking spot?" along with photos was uploaded to an online community. A, who visited the department store on a weekend evening, said, "I went down to the lowest floor, basement level 6, to find a parking spot," and added, "I was driving slowly looking for an empty spot to park, but there was a black backpack left alone in the empty spot."

She continued, "After preparing to back into the spot, I got out of the car, and a middle-aged woman approached me and said, '(We) are going to park here.'

When A protested, saying, "How can that be?" the woman responded, "I was waiting here first." A claimed she was verbally abused with words like "rude person" by the woman and wrote, "I kept my composure but quietly said 'ridiculous' at the end, and she replied, 'Ridiculous? You’re a worthless person. Do you talk to your parents like that?'"

In the end, A said, "I didn’t want to cause trouble for other cars, so I just got back in and parked somewhere else," and expressed, "It’s kind of surprising to actually experience a situation I’ve only seen in news and online communities. Did I do something wrong to deserve such insults?"

Netizens responded with comments such as, "If it were me, I would call the parking manager and park in that spot," "This issue has already become huge; I really hope people stop reserving spots," and "It seems like these absurd incidents are increasing lately. We need to enact related laws."

Last April, at an agricultural market, a dispute arose over parking issues, and a woman caused controversy by lying down on the spot, refusing to move.
[Photo source=Online Community]

Reserving parking spots has recently become a problem in many places. In April, a controversy arose at a farmers' market when a dispute over parking escalated, and a person lay down in the parking spot refusing to move.

Currently, there are no legal standards or regulations regarding who has priority for parking spots in public parking lots that are not private residential areas. Therefore, there are no penalties or fines for reserving parking spots. However, if someone reserves a spot and refuses to move despite parking attendants’ instructions, it may constitute obstruction of business or general traffic obstruction under criminal law.

Some citizens have expressed fatigue over parking spot reservation and mentioned the need for "legislation." On April 6, Song Ki-heon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, introduced a bill to amend the Parking Lot Act, which prohibits acts such as blocking vehicle entry or stacking objects to block passage in order to reserve parking spots. The proposed amendment imposes a fine of 5 million won for obstructing parking.