"Electric Vehicle Charger" Citizen Applications Reach 8,200 in One Month... Seoul City's First Charger Selected, Full Installation Starts in April

6073 units of apartments, 862 parking spaces, and 526 public facilities received the most applications
Songpa-gu leads with 1361 applications, including from disabled vehicle owners

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 28th that there has been high interest in the electric vehicle (EV) charger installation citizen application it is promoting this year, with 8,200 units applied for within just one month of the application period. The city will begin full-scale installation starting in April, beginning with the first chargers for children's school buses, disabled persons, and taxis.

Seoul plans to identify installation sites through citizen applications for 11,600 EV chargers in the first half of this year and complete installation by the end of the first half, aiming to promptly resolve the inconvenience of citizens hesitant to switch to EVs due to insufficient charging infrastructure.

Looking at the application status by charger type, slow chargers such as outlet-type chargers and standard chargers, which have lower charging fees and longer charging times, were mainly applied for in multi-family housing complexes, while fast chargers were applied for primarily in parking facilities such as public parking lots where vehicle inflow is easier. By location, among a total of 813 sites, reflecting the charging patterns of EV users who prefer home-cooked meals, multi-family housing including large apartment complexes accounted for the largest share with 353 sites (43.4%), followed by parking facilities with high fast-charging demand at 174 sites (21.4%), and public facilities at 139 sites (17.1%). Applications were mainly made in places with relatively favorable conditions for charger installation and high charging convenience.

By district, Songpa-gu with a high proportion of multi-family housing applied for 1,361 units (16.5%), followed by Seongbuk-gu with 781 units (9.5%) and Gangseo-gu with 637 units (7.7%). Most of the 786 application sites were submitted by building owners or facility managers for joint use by residents and users, while 114 sites were recommended or applied for by individuals for their own direct use. Direct use and location recommendations were mainly for parking facilities including public parking lots (40 sites), multi-family housing (30 sites), and public facilities (29 sites). Additionally, various types of applications are underway, including for vehicles for the disabled (6 sites), electric taxis (20 sites), and electric cargo vehicles (16 sites).

Meanwhile, Seoul City selected the first priority installation targets for each charger type by verifying the reasons for citizen applications. Fast chargers will be installed in the parking lot within Seoul Innovation Park in Eunpyeong-gu, where an application was made for children's school buses (National Shuttle Bus Labor Union). Standard chargers will be installed on the first floor of a multi-family house in Eunpyeong-gu to facilitate convenient charging for electric vehicles used by disabled persons. Outlet-type chargers will be installed in an apartment complex in Jungnang-gu, which was the first multi-family housing to apply. Streetlight-type chargers (fast) will be installed near taxi stands (Mugyo-ro, Sejong-daero) considering the trend of expanding electric taxi distribution.

Yoo Yeon-sik, Director of the Climate and Environment Headquarters, said, “Seoul City is installing charging facilities at locations desired by citizens to make it more convenient for them to use electric vehicles,” and added, “Citizens who wish to install EV chargers are encouraged to apply by the end of this month.”

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