"One in Four Highway Rest Areas Have Lights Off at Night"[2024 National Audit]

Among 209 Rest Areas Nationwide, 50 Close After 9 PM
61 Locations Have Only One Night Worker

On the 22nd, at the People Power Party's "Apartment Flat Slab Defective Construction Investigation and Public Safety Task Force" meeting held at the National Assembly, Chairman Kim Jeong-jae is speaking. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Kim Jeong-jae, a member of the People Power Party, demanded that Korea Expressway Corporation come up with countermeasures, stating that "one out of four highway rest areas has no nighttime workers at all, resulting in dark rest areas."

At the Korea Expressway Corporation audit held at the National Assembly on the 21st, Rep. Kim pointed out, "Looking at the status of the corporation's employees, many places are unable to operate because they cannot find workers to work after 9 p.m., resulting in zero nighttime workers." He added, "Out of 209 rest areas nationwide, 52 had zero nighttime workers as of 2022, and last year there were 50, accounting for about 24%."

He continued, "There are also 61 places, or 30%, that barely operate with only one nighttime worker," adding, "In total, 111 rest areas are either without any workers or barely operating with just one employee."

Rep. Kim also pointed out, "A more serious problem is that among these 111 rest areas facing such labor shortages, 101 are located outside the metropolitan area, accounting for about 91%," criticizing, "Highway tolls are the same everywhere, but even rest areas are operated differently between the metropolitan area and other regions."

He further stated, "There is also a difference in sales at these dark rest areas," noting, "Excluding the pandemic period, last year’s nighttime sales at rest areas nationwide decreased by 19% compared to 2019. However, in the metropolitan area, sales increased by 25.3% during the same period despite nighttime hours, while in non-metropolitan areas, sales dropped by about 20.8%." He added, "In fact, the nighttime sales at Gujeong Rest Area in Gangwon Province plummeted by 98.2%."

In response, Ham Jin-gyu, president of Korea Expressway Corporation, said, "Ultimately, I think it is a manpower issue," explaining, "This phenomenon is occurring in non-metropolitan areas where the labor shortage is severe. We encourage the use of foreign workers at rest areas nationwide, and currently about 109 foreigners are working."

Rep. Kim said, "Nevertheless, there are still many dark rest areas," and suggested, "How about introducing a policy that requires rest area operators to secure nighttime staff as a condition when renewing contracts?" He then requested President Ham to "prepare related measures and submit them to my office."