Gyeongnam Province to Impound License Plates if Car Tax is Overdue Twice or More

Joint Inspections by Province, City, and County from April 24 to 28

Gyeongsangnam-do has designated the period from the 24th to the 28th as the intensive license plate seizure week for delinquent vehicles and will carry out license plate seizures targeting vehicles with unpaid automobile taxes.

According to the province, the license plate seizures, conducted jointly with city and county authorities, will target vehicles that have unpaid automobile taxes for two or more times.

All city and county delinquent tax collection officers will use vehicles equipped with license plate recognition systems and smartphone seizure systems to conduct enforcement during the day, night, and early morning, focusing on vehicle-dense areas such as large apartment complexes and public parking lots.

A vehicle with a removed license plate is parked.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

The province plans to immediately tow and auction off illegally registered vehicles, commonly known as "daepocha," which are feared to be used for criminal activities, to prevent secondary problems caused by abandoned vehicles.

For vehicles with a single instance of unpaid automobile tax, a license plate seizure warning will be issued to encourage voluntary payment.

For livelihood-type delinquent taxpayers, such as freight trucks and delivery vehicles whose economic activities would be restricted by license plate seizures, the province plans to provide payment conveniences such as seizure deferrals.

Shim Sang-cheol, head of the Taxation Division, stated, "Through the intensive license plate seizure period for delinquent vehicles, we aim to instill the awareness that driving on the road without paying automobile taxes is not allowed," adding, "We will make every effort to create a culture of sincere tax payment through strong delinquency measures such as license plate seizures and vehicle auctions, and to secure stable local revenue."

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