"‘Disabled Parking Spaces Are Narrow’ Complaints... Seongnam City Decides to Remove Them Entirely"

Recommendation for Correction by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission... "Illegal and Unfair Administration"

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced on the 25th that it recommended corrective action to Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, which removed disabled parking spaces by claiming there was no legal obligation to install them, despite complaints requesting the installation of disabled parking spaces according to regulations.

Standards for Complaint-Reported Parking Spaces and Legally Designated Disabled Parking Spaces.
[Image provided by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission]

Mr. A filed a complaint with the Commission in September last year, stating that the width of the disabled parking space in Seongnam City was too narrow, causing difficulty in parking, and requested that the width be expanded to meet the standards.

Seongnam City judged that since the building in question was approved for use around 1997, there was no obligation to install disabled-only parking spaces. The responsible official advised the parking lot building manager to remove the disabled parking space and convert it into a general parking space. The parking lot building manager deleted the disabled parking markings and changed the space to a general parking spot.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare guidelines, disabled parking spaces installed without legal obligation are still valid parking spaces, and continuous administrative guidance should be provided to encourage installation according to standards. The Commission's investigation found that the parking lot building had a total of about 130 parking spaces and was used by hospital patients, making the installation of disabled parking spaces necessary.

Kim Taegyu, Vice Chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, said, “This is a case where the official responsible for managing and maintaining disabled parking spaces instead removed them,” and added, “We will continue to inform the public about illegal and improper administration by public officials and sound the alarm within the public service community.”