Chungju City Faces Controversy Over Recent Official Letter to Central Police Academy
"Received Carpool Complaints... Must Coexist with Taxi Drivers"
In Response to 'Mobility Restriction' Criticism, "It Prohibits Paid Transportation"
Recently, a controversy arose after Chungju City in Chungbuk sent an official letter requesting the prohibition of carpooling among students of the Central Police Academy. On the 20th, Kim Seontae, a public official known as ‘Chungju Man,’ stated on Chungju City’s YouTube channel, “The city has caused great disappointment to the public due to this ‘carpool ban’ incident,” and “We sincerely apologize especially to the students of the Central Police Academy who were hurt.”
Kim explained, “A complaint was received requesting the prohibition of paid transportation in Chungju City, and in response, we sent an official letter to the Police Academy asking them to promote the ‘ban on paid transportation.’ Although the letter was sent to convey the complaint, it caused unnecessary misunderstandings.” He added, “We are not trying to block all carpooling. We prohibited services that charge transportation fees, and rides given as favors among students are naturally allowed.”
On the 18th, a post titled ‘Current Status of Chungju City’ was uploaded on the anonymous workplace community ‘Blind.’ The author, Mr. A, revealed the official letter recently sent by Chungju City, which requested the ban on carpooling by students of the newly established police training institution, the Central Police Academy. The photo of the letter disclosed by Mr. A contained a warning stating, “Reports have been received that students are using private cars for paid transportation (carpooling),” which could violate the ‘Passenger Transport Service Act.’ It also mentioned, “Complaints have been raised that about 40 taxi drivers in Chungju City are suffering from livelihood difficulties due to the charter buses operated by the Police Academy,” and requested, “Please promote student support policies in a way that allows coexistence with the taxi drivers.”
Chungju City’s official letter is interpreted as being mindful of nearby taxi drivers and local merchants. The post included a photo of a banner presumed to have been hung by Chungju City merchants, which read, “Dear School Principal, restaurants around the school are struggling greatly. Please help prevent students from using private cars when going out. Please open a path for mutual coexistence.”
In response, most netizens criticized the local government for excessively restricting students’ right to mobility out of consideration for local residents. Comments such as “Why don’t they just ask for money?”, “What does coexistence mean to them?”, and “The epitome of selfishness” were posted. However, some argued that since carpooling for paid transportation is illegal under current law, it is natural for the police organization to ban carpooling.
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