Full Day 'Mancha'... There Was a Reason for Parking Shortage at Yongin City Hall

Long-term Parking by Subway Transfers and Market Visitors Due to Low Fees
Yongin City to Raise Daily Maximum from 8,000 to 15,000 Won Starting March

Kim, who recently visited Yongin City Hall in Gyeonggi Province to apply for a passport, had to spend more than 30 minutes looking for a parking space. Not only were the designated parking lines full, but cars were also double-parked, blocking the passage, making it difficult to find an empty spot in the parking lot.

Public office parking lots in Yongin, such as city halls and district offices, are suffering from long-term parking due to their low fees. Although the hourly parking fee is 300 KRW per 10 minutes, which is not particularly cheap, the maximum daily fee is only 8,000 KRW, so many commuters and local residents park from early morning until late at night.

The most severe parking shortage is at Cheoin District Office in Kimryangjang-dong, Cheoin-gu. Being an old downtown area with a lack of surrounding parking lots and many visitors to Yongin Central Market, the district office parking lot is always full. According to the city, the Cheoin District Office's attached parking lot has only 113 spaces, exceeding its capacity by 51%. The situation is similar at Suji District Office parking lot, which is close to the subway station.

A panoramic view of the parking lot at Cheoin-gu Office in Kimryangjang-dong, Cheoin-gu, Yongin. Due to the old downtown area, parking facilities are insufficient, and the parking lot is full all day long because of long-term parking by customers of nearby markets.
[Photo by Yongin City]

The situation is not much different in Yongin Administrative Town, where administrative agencies such as City Hall, City Council, Police Station, and Tax Office are concentrated. Despite relatively spacious parking lots, they are crowded with cars all day long. Double parking and parking in passageways have become routine, causing frequent announcements at City Hall requesting the movement of vehicles blocking traffic.

A significant number of long-term parked vehicles are identified as transfer vehicles for the Everline light rail at City Hall and Yongin University Station. A Yongin city official stated, "Because the maximum fee is low, many vehicles park long-term without visiting City Hall," adding, "This causes inconvenience to actual visitors to public offices."

Yongin City has taken measures to solve the problem. The maximum daily fee for public office parking lots, which was 8,000 KRW, has been nearly doubled to 15,000 KRW. The increased fee will be applied starting from March.

The adjusted fees will apply to parking lots at Yongin City Hall, the three district offices of Cheoin-gu, Giheung-gu, and Suji-gu, as well as the attached parking lots of administrative welfare centers in Jungang-dong, Bojeong-dong, and Jukjeon 1-dong. However, the city plans to maintain the previous fee (maximum 8,000 KRW) for parking within 5 hours to avoid inconvenience to civil petitioners.