Traffic fine defaulters face severe sanctions

By Lee Hyo-sik

Staff reporter

Drivers defaulting on overdue parking or speeding tickets will not be able to sit behind the wheel from as early as December this year, with the government moving to crack down on traffic rule violators and increase state revenue.

Those who do not undergo the state-mandated vehicle inspection and default on penalties will also be banned from driving.

The Ministry of Justice said Wednesday that it will submit a revised bill concerning the punishment for traffic rule violations to the National Assembly for approval during its plenary session in September.

If passed during the upcoming session, a range of measures aimed at forcing traffic fine defaulters to pay overdue penalties will go into effect later this year.

Under the revision, police and municipal administrations will be authorized to confiscate license plates from drivers failing to pay due parking tickets and other traffic-related fines.

Additionally, those who do not have their vehicles go through mandatory inspections in accordance with the law and fail to pay the resulting penalty will have the license plates to their car removed.

People who buy a new car are required to have their vehicle checked four years after the purchase. The vehicle must then undergo regular inspections every two years. If owners do not abide by the rules, they will be slapped with a maximum 300,000 won fine.

Violators won't be able to get their license plates back until unpaid penalties are paid in full.

Additionally, drivers defaulting on fines will be required to submit proof that they fully paid all overdue penalties when they transfer vehicle ownership in an effort to stop traffic fine defaulters from selling cars and passing on the damages to the buyers.

Businesses that take over other companies and individuals who inherit from others will be legally responsible for overdue traffic penalties owed by the other parties.

To save costs, the police and local governments will be allowed to notify defaulters of their outstanding fines by e-mail.

"Municipal administrations and other concerned government bodies have been able to collect only 60 percent of all-issued traffic-related penalties. To boost the collection rate, we will continue to come out with new measures, besides those included in the revision," a ministry official said.

Under the current law, which was revised in June 2008, if the violators do not pay fines by due dates, they will be slapped with an additional 77-percent punitive charge.

If they pay fines within the period, the amount is reduced by 20 percent.

과태료 체납자 운전 금지

주차위반이나 과속으로 과태료를 부과받은 운전 체납자들은 빠르면 12월부터 운전대를 잡지 못할 것 같다.

법무부는 자동차 과태료 체납자의 운전을 금지시키는 '질서위반행위규제법 개정안'을 국회에 제출한다고 14일 밝혔다.

개정안이 시행될 경우 불법주차나 차량검사 불이행 등으로 벌금이 부과된 체납자들이 자동차 과태료를 모두 낼 때까지 해당 차량 번호판을 강제로 압수하게 된다.

또한 자동차 소유권 이전 시 납부 증명서를 의무적으로 제출하게 해 차량 구매자에게 피해가 없도록 한다.

법무부는 9월 정기국회에 개정안을 제출할 예정이며 이르면 올해 말부터 시행된다고 밝혔다.