Russian Embassy owes huge fines

By Kim Tae-gyu

The Russian Embassy had the largest unpaid fines for illegal parking between 2008 and 2012, owing 50 million won to Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG).

According to data obtained by The Korea Times, Wednesday, the parking fines for the Russian mission in arrears totaled 52.45 million won.

Algeria came second on the infamous list with 36.97 million won, followed by Kazakhstan with 18.16 million won; Ukraine with 17.06 million won; Belarus, 5.68 million won; and China with 5.36 million won.

Of OECD member states, Spain’s outstanding fines were the highest at 3.81 million won. Turkey was in second place at 2 million won, then Germany with 1.98 million won, and Italy and Austria with 1.22 million won each.

Also included in the list were Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden.

SMG has a hard time collecting the overdue fines because of the diplomatic immunity accorded to foreign missions, as such the city authorities cannot enforce the payment by resorting to measures such as confiscation of vehicles.

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations protects vehicles of foreign missions from searches, confiscation, requisition and attachment.

“We urge them to pay the fines by sending reminders. But if they do not heed out requests, we cannot resort to other measures because they are diplomats,” a Seoul City official said.

“The number of foreign missions that totally disregard their duties to pay traffic fines has decreased of late but has not completely gone.”

Beginning in 2009, the foreign ministry prevented foreign embassies here from transferring the ownership of diplomatic vehicles with unpaid tickets as part of efforts to enforcement the payment of fines.

The policy worked to substantially reduce the number of parking violations and unpaid fines by diplomats. Before this directive was put in place, foreign missions hardly paid traffic fines.

“In the past, some foreign embassies in Seoul did not pay the fines at all. But there are no such countries any more after the introduction of our new policy,” an official of the foreign ministry said.

“We are putting in place measures to make them fulfill their civic duty by paying the fines just like ordinary citizens.”