Gwangju Rent-a-Car Business Association, Joint Inspection of Car Rental Business

Violation of garage and parking fee burden rates detected
"Eradicate illegal operations... Leading consumer protection"

The Gwangju City Rent-a-Car Business Association announced on the 13th that it conducted a joint inspection of the car rental business in the second half of this year.

Hosted by Gwangju City, this inspection was promoted to reduce accidents involving minors using rental cars, which have consistently occurred after the annual college entrance exam, to ensure the safety of students who have just obtained their driver's licenses and to minimize damages caused by illegal business operators.

The main inspection points included whether minors rented vehicles with the consent of their legal guardians after obtaining a driver's license, verification of driver's licenses at the time of vehicle rental, insurance subscription to protect drivers in case of accidents, business suspension fees incurred during the repair period of rental vehicles involved in accidents, rental terms and conditions, and violations of business area regulations.

The Gwangju City Rent-a-Car Business Association conducted a joint inspection of the car rental business in the second half of this year. Provided by the Gwangju City Rent-a-Car Business Association

In one detected case, Company A, based in Seoul, installed a branch office in Gwangju and applied for a garage area of 65㎡ (6-7 vehicles), but parked 28 vehicles exceeding the reported area near a repair shop with which they had a repair contract, not at the reported garage location. The violation was reported to the competent authority, Seoul City.

Furthermore, although the Fair Trade Commission's standard terms set the consumer burden rate at 50% or less in case of rental vehicle accidents, some branches either did not specify the suspension fee burden rate in the terms or set amounts exceeding 50%, causing consumer damages and resulting in fines.

Additionally, violations such as entrusting rental vehicles to repair shops for business or parking vehicles regularly outside the designated garage area were found and addressed according to relevant laws. However, simple mistakes due to insufficient understanding of related laws among some violations were corrected and guided on-site.

Heo Wook, chairman of the association, emphasized, “We will eradicate illegal activities in the car rental industry through guidance and crackdowns on illegal branches operating locally,” and added, “We will fulfill our responsibilities to protect consumers and safeguard the business rights of rental operators conducting legitimate business.”