Parked at a Commercial Building... Wheel Locked with a Clamp, "10,000 Won to Release"

Owner Says "I Didn't Know It Was Legally Problematic"
Legal Experts: "Using the Device Alone May Constitute Property Damage"

On the 1st, Yonhap News reported that a study cafe owner in Paju-si, Gyeonggi Province, locked a vehicle parked in a commercial building parking lot with a wheel lock and demanded 100,000 won to unlock it. The vehicle owner who reported the incident has taken legal action.

A vehicle was wheel-locked for unauthorized parking in a building's commercial area. Photo by Yonhap News.

The vehicle owner parked their car in the building's parking lot around 5 p.m. on the 25th of last month to use an ice cream shop in Paju-si. After buying ice cream and returning to the car, they found a notice on the window stating "Unauthorized Parking Notice" with a contact number, and the wheel was locked with a wheel lock.

When the vehicle owner contacted the number on the notice, they received a text message along with a bank account number demanding a payment of 100,000 won to remove the wheel lock. The message was sent by the owner of an unmanned study cafe in the same building.

The owner demanded via text message, "Since you parked without permission, if you exceed midnight today, an additional fee of 100,000 won per day will be charged," and stated, "Payment is required to remove the wheel lock." The parking lot had notices stating "Parking only for study cafe users" and "Unauthorized parking will incur a fine of at least 35,000 won; vehicle damage will be the owner's responsibility."

Despite the vehicle owner's protests, the owner did not relent. Eventually, the vehicle owner reported the incident to 112, and the police arrived at the scene. However, the owner was outside and did not cooperate with the investigation. With no other option, the vehicle owner transferred 100,000 won, after which a study cafe representative came to the parking lot and removed the wheel lock. The vehicle owner filed a complaint with the Paju Police Station the next day, accusing the owner of property damage, extortion, and intimidation.

The vehicle owner expressed outrage, saying, "I cannot understand how an individual who is not registered as a parking lot operator can lock vehicles under the pretext of the commercial building and demand money, or charge 100,000 won per day. I believe many others have suffered damage in this way."

The study cafe owner defended the action as a "last resort." "Four years ago, I was assigned a parking area by the building owner. Due to the unmanned operation, there were many cases of habitual long-term parking, which caused complaints from study cafe users," they said. "Since the second half of last year, I started locking wheels through a person managing the parking lot." They added, "Notices about locking wheels were posted throughout the building from the beginning. In reality, the wheel lock was applied only about twice. I did not realize this would be legally problematic, and I will not use wheel locks going forward."

Legal experts noted that the owner could be charged with property damage simply for using a device without the driver's consent. They also pointed out that depending on whether the owner had the right to obtain financial gain and whether threatening language was used, charges such as fraud or extortion could also apply.

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