Supreme Court Rules "Ordinance Suspending Administrative Sanctions for Parking Violations by Wholesale Suppliers is Invalid"

Court: "Exceeding the Limits of Ordinance Enactment Authority... National Affairs Cannot Be Regulated by Ordinance"

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The Supreme Court has ruled that the ordinance passed by the Busan Metropolitan Council, which granted exemptions from administrative penalties for parking and stopping violations to wholesale suppliers prioritizing hiring graduates from local universities, is invalid.

The Supreme Court's Second Division (Presiding Justice Cho Jae-yeon) announced on the 18th that it ruled in favor of the plaintiff, the Mayor of Busan, in a lawsuit seeking confirmation of the invalidity of the ordinance's re-adoption against the Busan Metropolitan Council.

Last June, the Busan Metropolitan Council passed an ordinance obligating wholesale suppliers in Busan to prioritize hiring graduates from local universities and stipulated that the mayor, in consultation with district heads, would automatically exempt registered wholesale delivery vehicles from administrative penalties for parking and stopping violations.

However, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety requested Busan to reconsider the ordinance, stating that it imposed hiring obligations on wholesale suppliers without legal delegation and included unauthorized provisions for reducing parking and stopping violation fines.

Busan requested the council to reconsider, but the council re-adopted the ordinance as originally proposed, leading Busan to file a lawsuit against the council. The lawsuit for confirmation of invalidity of the ordinance's re-adoption is conducted as a single-instance trial at the Supreme Court.

The key issue in the trial was whether imposing preferential hiring obligations on local university graduates and automatically exempting parking violation fines could be established by a local council ordinance.

The Supreme Court found that the provision favoring local university graduates was not problematic as it was based on delegation under the current 'Local University Promotion Act.' However, it ruled that the automatic exemption clause for parking violation fines exceeded the ordinance-making authority and was illegal.

The court held that establishing the automatic exemption clause for parking violation fines by ordinance exceeded the limits of ordinance-making authority and was unlawful. Enforcement of parking violation monitoring and fine imposition and collection under the Road Traffic Act is a national duty delegated to local governments, classified as delegated national affairs, which cannot be regulated by ordinance.

Since part of the ordinance was invalid, the entire ordinance was deemed invalid, including the clause prioritizing hiring local university graduates.

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