"Please Park Properly" Holiday Parking Chaos as Returning Travelers Swarm, Citizens Frustrated

Chuseok Holiday Homebound Traffic Causes Apartment Parking Space Issues
Expensive Paid Parking Used... Secret 'Sneaky Parking' at Dawn Causes Nuisance
Government Releases Free Public Parking Information
Some Areas Open Churches and Schools to Secure Parking Spaces

An underground parking lot of a residential complex is filled with cars. The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "I drove around for a long time because there was nowhere to park." "I'm really tired."

On Chuseok day today (the 21st), as the flow of people returning home and going back continues, voices of inconvenience due to the lack of parking spaces are growing. In some apartment complexes and other multi-family housing, if you are not a resident, you cannot park at all, and nearby public parking lots also require monthly parking permits, so the so-called 'Chuseok parking shortage' continues.

The government opens elementary schools and public parking lots for free during the holiday period, but many suffer from parking difficulties due to the distance from the visited apartments or lack of information.

A man in his 40s, Kim, who said he came up from the provinces to spend the Chuseok holiday in Seoul, lamented, "Every year during Chuseok or holidays, there are hardly any places to park, so it's always a struggle." He added, "If I try to park in residential alleys or other places, there is a risk of illegal parking, so I use nearby commercial paid parking lots."

Another office worker in his 30s, Park, also said, "Because there is no parking space, I have recently been using public transportation," emphasizing, "It's just more convenient to come and go like this."

The nationwide parking shortage is not a recent issue. According to the 'Study on Improving the Efficiency of Parking Lot Use to Solve Seoul's Parking Problems' (Seoul Digital Foundation Policy Research / August 2020), resident-priority parking zones, mainly established in densely populated multi-family and multi-household areas, have been implemented since 1996.

Since these zones utilize limited back roads, continuous expansion is impossible, and problems inevitably arise as the number of parked vehicles increases.

Various policies such as constructing communal parking lots in residential areas, converting leftover land into parking lots, demolishing dilapidated buildings, and utilizing underground spaces of school playgrounds and main roads are being implemented, but the supply of parking lots cannot keep up with the increasing number of cars. The situation becomes more severe during holidays like Chuseok when vehicle congestion is inevitable.

A parking lot is fully occupied with vehicles. The photo is for reference only and is not related to any specific expression in the article.

Given this situation, the government has been providing information on public parking lots nationwide that are open for free during the Chuseok holiday period (September 18 to September 22) through Gongyu Nuri and the Public Data Portal since the 17th.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, a total of 14,237 public parking lots nationwide are available for free during this Chuseok holiday period, which can be checked by accessing the Gongyu Nuri website or the mobile Gongyu Nuri app.

However, some voices of inconvenience have been raised. There are cases where people want to park near the house they are visiting but find it difficult.

A 50-year-old office worker, Choi, said, "If you don't park quickly in public parking lots, there are no parking spaces, and since these parking lots are literally open to everyone, they are not very convenient." He added, "I hope they increase the number of parking lots or temporarily operate affordable paid parking for outsiders parking in public housing."

There are also criticisms of so-called 'sneaky parking.' A man in his late 20s, Jung, said, "They secretly park in fire lane spaces at dawn and then leave," adding, "It seems like they park in paid parking lots but then move to nearby communal housing parking lots at dawn, which is not right."

Incheon International Airport Long-Term Parking Lot. Photo is not related to specific expressions in the article.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly recently proposed three bills to prevent intentional obstruction and a kind of inconsiderate parking in communal housing parking lots: partial amendments to the Parking Lot Act, the Apartment Housing Management Act, and the Road Traffic Act.

The so-called three laws to resolve parking lot disputes include ▲adding apartment and other communal housing parking lot entrances as no-parking zones (Road Traffic Act amendment), ▲allowing parking lot managers to request administrative actions such as towing and fines from mayors, county governors, or district heads if parking order is violated in existing on-street and attached parking lots (Parking Lot Act amendment), and ▲allowing managers to request administrative actions from mayors, county governors, or district heads if vehicles violating parking order in communal housing parking lots do not comply with cooperation requests (Apartment Housing Management Act amendment).

Various systems to solve parking problems, including securing parking lots, are also under review. In some areas, measures to convert vehicle traffic to one-way streets to secure parking spaces are being promoted. School and church parking lots are opened and shared with the general public.

If parking lots are opened outside specific hours, the city supports safety measures such as closed-circuit television (CCTV), insurance enrollment, and pavement. Currently, two churches and two schools have expressed willingness to participate, drawing attention to whether this parking shortage solution method will spread nationwide.

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