Despite Complete No Parking Restrictions... School Zones Are Still 'Parked' Today

Stopped with hazard lights on for several minutes
8 illegally parked vehicles for 1 hour 30 minutes
Parents "Please follow the rules"
Parking space needed for school commute vehicles

On the afternoon of the 28th, vehicles were illegally parked within the school zone near Seoil Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Lee Jung-yoon leejuyoo@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] On the afternoon of the 28th, near Seoil Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Although there were signs hanging on utility poles and large letters on the road indicating it was a Children's Protection Zone, illegally parked vehicles were easily found. Those who parked in the Children's Protection Zone left the driver's seat or waited for several minutes with their hazard lights on. When it was time for school dismissal, children carefully avoided the vehicles parked throughout the school zone and headed home. Other drivers passing through the area completely reduced their speed when passing by the parked vehicles and repeatedly checked left and right while driving slowly.

Due to an amendment to the Road Traffic Act, from the 21st of this month, parking and stopping of vehicles have been completely banned on all roads within Children's Protection Zones. However, even a week after the revised law was implemented, the school zones actually visited were suffering from illegal parking. From 12:30 PM to around 2 PM that day, an inspection of the Children's Protection Zones around Seoil Elementary, Sinjung Elementary, and Seoul National University of Education Affiliated Elementary School found 8 illegally parked vehicles in just 1 hour and 30 minutes. Among them were vehicles parked directly on the road with large white letters indicating it was a Children's Protection Zone or right below no parking signs.

According to the National Police Agency, as of last year, there are 16,896 Children's Protection Zones nationwide, and illegal parking in these areas results in fines of up to 130,000 KRW for passenger cars and up to 140,000 KRW for vans. Limited parking for up to 5 minutes is allowed only in areas separately authorized by the National Police Agency Chief for children's boarding and alighting.

Parking in on-street parking lots within school zones is also prohibited in principle. As of October this year, Seoul has 67 on-street parking lots with 970 spaces within Children's Protection Zones. These are concentrated in 10 local governments including Songpa-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu, and Guro-gu. These local governments are gradually abolishing on-street parking lots within Children's Protection Zones and are flexibly enforcing parking violation crackdowns in these areas.

Parents expressed concern that illegally parked vehicles might cause accidents. Kim (40), a parent, said, "Parked cars can obstruct the view of drivers passing through the school zone, which makes me uneasy," adding, "Since parking and stopping have been banned for the safety of children, as a parent, I hope traffic laws are well observed."

Some guardians emphasized the urgent need to provide parking spaces within Children's Protection Zones. Rather than just enforcing crackdowns, they argued that creating parking spaces within school zones would help prevent illegal parking. Kang (69), whose grandson is a first grader at Seoil Elementary, said, "I mainly use a private car to pick up my grandson from school," and added, "My grandson wants to play with friends in a nearby park after school, but it is inconvenient because parking is not allowed within the Children's Protection Zone."

Those who need to use vehicles for work within Children's Protection Zones shared similar opinions. Delivery driver A said, "If I park outside the Children's Protection Zone and deliver, it takes a long time and is very difficult," adding, "I try not to park for more than 3 minutes and avoid delivery during school arrival and dismissal times whenever possible."

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