"New Car Arrived with Light Green License Plate, Weekend Trip Plans Disrupted"…Car Owner's Complaint Faces Backlash

From January, High-End Corporate Cars to Display Green License Plates
"Corporate Cars Are Ultimately My Money" Sparks Netizen Criticism

As the government introduced the 'light green' license plate system to prevent the private use of corporate vehicles, a netizen lamented, "How am I supposed to go for a drive on the weekend with this?" On the 19th, a post titled 'Which lawmaker proposed the light green license plate for corporate cars?' was uploaded on an online community. In the post, Mr. A expressed anger mixed with profanity, saying, "Leasing a corporate car is basically using my own money anyway, so what exactly is the problem with this?"

Green license plate newly issued for corporate vehicles (left) and BMW 'M3' model (right) [Image source=Yonhap News, BMW Korea homepage]

Recently, Mr. A purchased a BMW 'M3' worth about 140 million KRW and was shocked to see the light green license plate. When Mr. A asked the dealer, "What is this?" the dealer replied, "Now, corporate leased vehicles priced over 80 million KRW must have light green license plates." Hearing this, Mr. A said, "I was startled. How am I supposed to go for a drive on the weekend with this?"

Netizens who saw Mr. A's post left comments such as "All existing corporate cars should be changed too," "80 million KRW is too high, lower it," "Change drunk driving vehicles to red license plates," "Of course, this plate is made so you don't go for drives," and "How can corporate money be your own money?"

'Light Green License Plate' Introduction Causes Corporate Car Registrations and Share to Plummet

At the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in the Government Sejong Complex, Sejong City, an official is introducing a sample of the 'light green license plate' attached to business-use passenger cars worth 80 million won or more, newly registered or changed by public and private corporations.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Earlier, the government amended related laws last year to require light green license plates on corporate vehicles sold for over 80 million KRW, and the system was implemented in January. Since the mandatory attachment of light green license plates on corporate cars was introduced, the number and share of high-priced imported corporate car registrations have significantly decreased compared to a year ago.

On the 13th, the Korea Imported Automobile Association announced that the number of imported corporate cars priced over 80 million KRW registered in February dropped by 1,242 units to 3,551 compared to the same month last year. The introduction of the license plate system has led to a significant decrease in the registration of high-priced imported corporate cars.

The number of imported corporate cars priced over 80 million KRW registered in the same month last year was 4,793. In contrast, this year saw a sharp decrease of 1,242 units. The share of corporate cars in the total registrations at the same price point also dropped sharply compared to a year ago. Among the 7,516 vehicles registered last month, corporate cars accounted for 47%, a 10 percentage point decrease from the same period last year. In February last year, the total registrations were 8,455, with corporate cars making up 57%.

Among imported cars priced over 80 million KRW registered last month, the brand with the highest number of corporate car registrations was BMW, with 1,499 units. This was followed by Mercedes-Benz (1,206 units), Porsche (375 units), and Land Rover (133 units). The corporate car share for these four brands ranged between 45% and 57%. In February last year, the brand with the highest corporate car registrations at the same price point was Mercedes-Benz, with 2,326 units (corporate car share of 69%).