"Basement Levels 2 and 3 Are a Hassle"... Regular Cars Occupying Electric Vehicle Parking Spaces

Story of New Apartment in Incheon... 8 Cases Reported at Once
Eco-Friendly Vehicle Law, Up to 200,000 KRW Fine

An electric vehicle (EV) owner became furious and reported to the local district office after regular cars were parked indiscriminately in the EV charging zones of an apartment complex.

On the 20th, a post titled ‘Reported 8 illegally parked cars in the EV charging zone of a newly built apartment in Songdo’ was uploaded on an online community.

The author, Mr. A, shared, “Since the apartment was completed last month and residents are still moving in, the barrier gate is not closed, so anyone can come and park there.”

[Photo by Online Community BobaeDream Capture]

According to him, there is an EV charging zone on the first basement level of the apartment, but many regular cars are parked there for convenience despite not being EVs, causing complaints from EV owners.

Mr. A expressed frustration, saying, "Currently, the parking spaces on basement levels 2 and 3 are completely empty, even during rush hour. Despite available spots on B2 and B3, people deliberately park in the EV charging zone to be a little more convenient, preventing EV owners from charging, and I can no longer tolerate this."

Eventually, he reported eight vehicles parked in the EV charging zone to the district office. The accompanying photos show the report titled ‘Illegal parking in EV charging zone’ with eight cars reported. He said, “I plan to report daily from now on,” adding, “If nothing improves even after reporting, I just want to block the spot with my own car.”

[Photo by Online Community BobaeDream Capture]

Mr. A added, “It’s not like they park because there are no spots; there are plenty of spaces, so it’s very aggravating and infuriating. On weekends, there are at least three spots available, but on weekdays after work, I’ve had to go outside to charge my car more than once because there were no spots.”

He concluded by asking for understanding, saying, “Please understand that I wrote this post out of frustration.” In response, netizens commented, “There will be an uproar asking who reported again. Fighting!”, “Thank you on behalf of EV drivers,” and “Discipline requires financial penalties.”

Meanwhile, according to the Act on the Development and Promotion of Environmentally Friendly Automobiles (Eco-friendly Vehicle Act), if caught parking a regular vehicle in an EV-only charging or parking zone and obstructing charging, a fine of up to 200,000 KRW can be imposed.

A market research firm, Embrain Trend Monitor, conducted a survey in 2020 targeting 1,000 men and women aged 19 to 59 nationwide with driving experience, regarding parking lot usage and parking app awareness. The results showed that most drivers strongly agree on the seriousness of ‘parking problems.’

About half of the respondents (51%) answered that “Korea’s parking culture is immature,” and among them, 85.3% identified “illegal parking” as a serious issue. Only 11.1% rated the parking culture as “mature.”

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