Vehicles Illegally Parked on Gimhae Airport Access Road Moved After Three Days

Next Week, Illegal Parking Followed by Departure Abroad
District Office to Impose a 120,000 KRW Fine

The owner of a hydrogen vehicle who illegally parked at the entrance of Busan Gimhae Airport and left the country, causing a 'record-breaking nuisance parking' controversy, reportedly returned to Korea on the 1st, three days after parking, and moved the car. The local government in charge plans to impose the maximum fine of 120,000 KRW on this vehicle.

On the 2nd, Yonhap News reported that the vehicle owner returned a day earlier than originally scheduled on the 1st and moved the vehicle around 9 p.m. that night. The 'thoughtless parking' of the vehicle was revealed on the 31st of last month when a post titled 'Record-breaking nuisance parking at Gimhae Airport' was uploaded to several online communities. The post included a photo of a car illegally parked on the shoulder.

Illegal parked vehicles on the entrance road to Gimhae Airport [Image source=Online community capture]

The post author, Mr. A, explained, "A thoughtless vacationer, finding the Gimhae Airport parking lot full, parked there saying the flight time was near and went abroad," adding, "The vehicle is still there, and they said it cannot be towed." The photo was taken at the entrance road adjacent to the Gimhae Airport parking lot, where several vehicles were illegally parked, reportedly obstructing vehicle traffic. Concerns were also raised that not only passenger cars but also airport limousine buses and city buses might have difficulty entering. After the issue became public, other vehicle owners moved their cars, but one hydrogen vehicle remained in place until the end.

On the 1st, a Gimhae Airport official stated, "After checking the vehicle number, we had difficulty contacting the (hydrogen vehicle) owner," and added, "The owner, currently overseas, will return on the 2nd and immediately move the vehicle." However, contrary to the claims initially spread online, it was understood that buses and other vehicles could enter by driving slowly.

Yonhap News reported that the vehicle was estimated to have been parked on the entrance road between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. on the 30th of last month. The owner, unable to find a spot in the airport parking lot and pressed for boarding time, parked there and departed abroad. Due to the difficulty in traffic caused by the vehicle, numerous citizen reports were made, and the airport corporation contacted the owner. The owner called the insurance company and promised to tow the vehicle immediately, but since the vehicle is a hydrogen car, all four wheels needed to be connected to the tow truck, and the left wheels were pressed tightly against the sidewalk, making towing impossible. As a result, the vehicle had to be left at the airport entrance for three days. The owner initially said they would return on the 2nd to move the car but returned a day earlier on the 1st and moved the vehicle.

This incident has also raised criticism about the lax enforcement of illegal parking at the airport. There was no closed-circuit television (CCTV) for parking enforcement on the entrance road, and it was confirmed that mobile cameras had mainly been used for guidance rather than strict parking management. Gimhae Airport has about ten fixed cameras for parking violation enforcement, but none were installed at this key entrance to the airport terminal. The airport corporation explained that they send footage captured by mobile cameras to the local government daily for reporting. However, the local government in charge, Gangseo-gu, stated that they have never received enforcement details from mobile cameras and plan to impose fines based on reports filed through the National Police Agency's online reporting system.

A Gangseo-gu official told Yonhap News, "We have not imposed any fines this year based on violations reported by the airport corporation's mobile cameras," adding, "We understand that the airport corporation uses mobile cameras mainly for guidance." The official further explained, "Based on citizen reports, a fine of up to 40,000 KRW per day can be imposed, with a maximum of 120,000 KRW for three days. However, if there are days without reports filed through the National Police Agency system, fines cannot be imposed for those days." In response, a Gimhae Airport official said, "It is possible that the report was made but the system missed it," and added, "Since we have the footage, we will re-report to Gangseo-gu so that fines can be imposed on the violating vehicle."

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