"Delinquent Vehicles Beware" ... Changwon Special City Strengthens License Plate Seizure and Auction Measures

'Dedicated License Plate Seizure Task Force' Operated Year-Round
'Auction Disposition of Chronic and Habitual Vehicles'

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam has established a focused plan for automobile tax delinquency clearance in 2025 to strengthen collection and disposition activities for delinquent vehicles, initiating license plate seizure and auction disposition of chronic and habitual vehicles.

As of early February, the outstanding automobile tax amounts to 15.9 billion KRW, accounting for 24% of the total delinquent amount.

The city will operate a 'City-District License Plate Seizure Task Force' year-round to seize license plates of delinquent vehicles, expanding and strengthening seizure activities step-by-step through self-seizure and joint seizures with related organizations.

First, before the intensive crackdown, the city will produce seizure notice leaflets and card news to provide advance notice of license plate seizure through eup/myeon/dong offices and SNS, and plans to begin full-scale seizure activities from the third week of February.

License plate seizure is an administrative measure that restricts vehicle operation by seizing the vehicle registration plates of those who have not paid automobile tax, pursuant to Article 131 of the Local Tax Act and Article 18 of the Local Tax Collection Act.

Targets for seizure include vehicles with two or more unpaid automobile tax installments within the jurisdiction, and vehicles with three or more unpaid installments nationwide under inter-local government collection agreements. Vehicles with seized license plates cannot be operated, and operating a vehicle without a license plate is subject to a fine of up to 3 million KRW under Article 10 Paragraph 4 and Article 84 of the Automobile Management Act.

The city will also actively promote auction disposition for chronic habitual and ghost vehicles.

For target vehicles, auction will proceed through issuance of delivery orders and forced towing, with proceeds applied to the delinquent local taxes.

Notices about the automobile auction system will also be sent out to prevent the sale or disposition of vehicles with seizure or mortgage rights that make normal ownership transfer impossible, aiming not only for economic recovery of delinquent taxpayers but also for prevention of chronic delinquency.

Kim Chang-woo, Director of the Taxation Division, stated, "We will strive to spread a culture of sincere tax payment and eliminate delinquent amounts through strong license plate seizures and auction dispositions of delinquent vehicles," adding, "For economically struggling livelihood delinquents, we plan to alleviate their burden through flexible collection activities such as encouraging installment payments."