4000-Unit Apartment Blocks Road Over Parking Fee Dispute... Chaos Lasted 9 Hours

A conflict over parking fees at the apartment shopping center led to a situation where vehicles were unable to enter the 'Godeok Arteon' in Sangil-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, for nine hours.

On the 6th, a photo was posted on a local online community showing that on the 1st, all four entrances to the 'Godeok Arteon' (4,066 households, moved in March 2020) in Sangil-dong were blocked by vehicles, preventing entry for about nine hours. Photos from the day of the incident show vehicles parked in front of the entrance barriers, and at another entrance, police officers intervening to mediate a dispute between residents and shopping center managers.

The places that blocked the apartment entrance were reportedly a real estate agency located in the complex's shopping area and several stores within the shopping center. Given that the apartment complex has over 4,000 households, residents frequently come and go, and the Sangil-dong area is known for its school districts, with academy vehicles constantly passing through.
[Photo source=Online Community]

원본보기 아이콘

The entrances were blocked by real estate agents from the shopping center within the complex and several shops located there. Given the nature of the apartment complex with over 4,000 households, residents frequently move in and out, and the Sangil-dong area is known for its school districts, with academy vehicles coming and going regularly. When vehicle traffic was blocked, the entire area descended into chaos.

The root of the problem was the 'parking fee.' The apartment and the shopping center were designed with no separation between the shopping center parking lot and the residents' parking lot. Because of this, local residents had been using the Godeok Arteon parking lot as 'free parking' under the pretext of using the shopping center. On local community sites, tips such as "It's convenient to park at Godeok Arteon and commute by subway" were even shared.

As a result, the apartment parking lot was always at full capacity. Although 46 parking spaces were allocated to the shopping center, the number of vehicles far exceeded this. As this saturation continued, actual apartment residents suffered from a lack of parking spaces. Consequently, the residents' representative meeting and the shopping center management agreed on parking fee rules: '1 hour free with verification and 500 KRW per 10 minutes, 2000 KRW per 10 minutes without verification.'

Because of this, the apartment parking lot was always in a "full" state. Although 46 parking spaces were allocated to the commercial area, far more vehicles entered. As this saturation continued, the apartment residents themselves suffered damage, such as having nowhere to park their cars.
[Photo by Online Community]

원본보기 아이콘

However, from late last year, about a month before the contract with the parking company was due, the shopping center side demanded renegotiation, reigniting the conflict. The shopping center sent a letter to the residents' representative meeting demanding terms such as '2 hours free initially with 500 KRW per 10 minutes thereafter' and '50-50 split of parking revenue.' The residents' representative meeting requested 'management of 46 parking spaces' and 'use of visitor passes,' but the shopping center did not accept these terms, causing negotiations to break down. Ultimately, on the 31st of last month, when the contract between the existing parking company and the shopping center management expired, the residents' representative meeting deleted all vehicles registered to the shopping center. In response, the shopping center blocked the apartment entrances, claiming the action was unfair.

The conflict between both sides eventually extended to the 'maintenance fee' issue. The ownership shares of the Arteon common areas are 98% for the apartment and 1.56% for the shopping center. However, the residents' representative meeting claims that the shopping center has not paid maintenance fees for the common areas and argues that "the shopping center has freely used the land and various mandatory facilities without restriction despite owning only about 1% of the shares." They are preparing to file a lawsuit demanding the return of unjust profits from shopping center owners and tenants.

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.