Parking in Apartment Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Will Result in Fines from Now On

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] A plan is being promoted to impose fines on general vehicles parked in all electric vehicle charging zones, including electric vehicle charging facilities within apartment complexes.

On the 21st, according to the National Assembly and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Lee Hak-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, recently introduced a partial amendment bill to the "Act on the Development and Promotion of Environmentally Friendly Automobiles (Eco-friendly Vehicle Act)" with this content as the main sponsor.

The amendment focuses on expanding the scope of parking enforcement within electric vehicle charging zones from only mandatory charging facilities to all charging facilities.

The current Eco-friendly Vehicle Act stipulates a fine of 100,000 KRW for general vehicles parked in charging zones within facilities where electric vehicle chargers are mandatorily installed.

Since the mandatory installation zones for electric vehicle chargers have been limited to a few, there have been increasing calls among electric vehicle owners to include electric vehicle charging zones within apartments that are not subject to mandatory installation as targets for parking enforcement and fines.

Public buildings with 100 or more parking spaces or apartments with 500 or more households built after April 6, 2017, are mandatory installation zones, but in the case of Seoul, they account for only 2.7% of the total.

The amendment also provides grounds to delegate the authority for enforcement and fine imposition to mayors, county governors, and district heads. This is intended to supplement the current law, where the authority for enforcement and fine imposition lies with the provincial governors, making immediate response difficult and reducing enforcement efficiency.

Additionally, apartments are expected to be included among those subject to fines for continuing to park after electric vehicle charging is completed, thereby obstructing other vehicles from charging.

According to the current enforcement decree of the Eco-friendly Vehicle Act, electric vehicles that start charging at rapid charging facilities and remain parked for more than 2 hours are considered to be obstructing charging and are fined 100,000 KRW.

For slow charging facilities, which currently have no fine regulations, a revision of the enforcement decree is underway to impose fines if the vehicle is not moved within 12 hours after charging.

Regarding the background of the amendment bill, Representative Lee explained, "The enforcement targets for electric vehicle charging obstruction (parking of general vehicles) have been limited to mandatory installation targets for eco-friendly vehicle charging facilities, and obstruction still occurs. We aim to promote the spread of eco-friendly vehicles and improve user convenience by expanding enforcement targets to all eco-friendly vehicle charging facilities."

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