Easier Parking for Eco-Friendly Cars... Mandatory Installation of Flood Prevention Facilities in Riverside Parking Lots

An electric vehicle charging station installed in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Sejong City. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Environmentally friendly vehicle (eco-friendly car) exclusive parking spaces, such as for electric and hydrogen cars, will increase in off-street parking lots. Flood prevention safety facilities will be mandatory in riverside embankment parking lots, where a large number of vehicles were submerged due to recent floods.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 27th that it will revise the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the "Parking Lot Act" to support the Green New Deal industry, including electric vehicles, and to prevent vehicle flood damage.

The Ministry plans to require that newly established off-street parking lots install eco-friendly car exclusive parking spaces accounting for at least 5% of the total parking capacity. Currently, the combined total of compact car and eco-friendly car exclusive parking spaces must be at least 10%, but going forward, the ratio for eco-friendly cars alone must exceed 5%. Existing parking lots must also meet this ratio within one year of the amendment's enforcement.

Charging convenience will also be improved. Previously, electric vehicle charging facilities in off-street parking lots could only be installed within 20% of the parking lot area, but the regulation will be relaxed to allow installation even if it exceeds 20%. Additionally, installation of solar power generation facilities will be permitted.

Due to the influence of the monsoon front, heavy rain continued for the fifth consecutive day on the 6th, and the water level of the Han River rose due to the discharge from Paldang Dam and Soyanggang Dam. Meanwhile, the parking lot at Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul is completely empty. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

To reduce vehicle flood damage, riverside embankment parking lots installed in river areas must be equipped with flood damage prevention safety facilities such as control, monitoring, and evacuation guidance. Existing parking lots must install safety facilities within six months after the amendment takes effect. Efforts will also be made to strengthen overall safety by adding safety management information to the parking lot information network management target information.

Revisions reflecting advanced trends such as shared parking projects and data centers will also be made. Legal grounds will be established to allow resident-priority parking lots designated for local residents to be used as shared parking lots during unused hours. Standards for installing attached parking lots at data centers (one space per 400㎡) will be introduced, and installation of advanced logistics collection and delivery facilities within off-street parking lots will be permitted to promote industry development.

The Ministry plans to complete the revision of the subordinate legislation within this year after public notice and other procedures.

Oh Myung-so, Director General of Comprehensive Transportation Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "By supporting the installation of eco-friendly vehicle parking spaces and advanced logistics collection and delivery facilities in parking lot facilities, we will strive to improve parking lot policies to help the newly changing economic environment such as the Green New Deal." He added, "We will continue to promote necessary institutional improvements to resolve parking difficulties and ensure the safety and convenience of our citizens."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.