From This Month, Illegal Parking Enforcement Suspended During Lunch Hours
A Total of 3 Hours from 11 AM to 2 PM
As the number of tourists visiting Jeju Island decreases, deepening the worries of local small business owners, Jeju City has come up with a drastic measure. Starting this month, the lunch-time enforcement suspension for illegal parking has been extended by one hour. This is part of a campaign to encourage dining out.
Recently, Jeju City announced that from the 1st of this month, the suspension period for illegal parking enforcement during lunch hours will be extended by one hour to promote the local commercial district and revitalize the grassroots economy. With this policy, the existing 2-hour lunch enforcement suspension from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM will be extended to a total of 3 hours, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
Jeju City officials stated, “We decided to extend the enforcement suspension period to help small business owners and small-scale merchants struggling due to the economic downturn and to contribute to revitalizing the depressed local economy.” The period will last for one year until February 28 of next year and will only apply to roads with two or fewer lanes in one direction. Roads with three or more lanes in one direction, special management areas, intersections, crosswalks, sidewalks, and areas that hinder vehicle flow or pose safety risks to residents, such as those subject to resident reports, will not be eligible for the lunch enforcement suspension, so caution is required.
Special management areas include Jeju Airport, the Jeju City Hall area, the bus terminal, areas around the central bus lanes, Shin-Jeju E-Mart, Seongpanak, Sammuro, Singwang-ro, Noyeon-ro, Sindae-ro, and Gomaro. Areas subject to the resident reporting system include fire hydrants, corners of intersections, crosswalks, sidewalks, children protection zones (including school routes), bus stops, safety zones, bridges, tunnels, and children boarding and alighting zones.
According to the tourism statistics from the Jeju Tourism Association, the number of domestic tourists visiting Jeju in January and February dropped by 27% to 1,616,061 compared to 2,218,754 in 2022. This trend continued during the recent holiday period as well. The association estimated that 130,000 tourists visited Jeju during the March 1st holiday from February 28 to March 3, a 9.6% decrease from 143,794 during the same period last year.
Consumer sentiment within the region is also a concern. According to the Bank of Korea Jeju Branch, the consumer sentiment index for Jeju in the previous month was 88.1, up 2.5 points from the prior month. However, considering that the national index rose 4 points to 95.2 during the same period, Jeju’s recovery appears slower. The January consumer sentiment index was 85.6, marking the lowest point in four years and four months since September 2020, when it recorded 80.4 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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