Police target habitual traffic fine delinquents

Joint crackdown with Ministry of Interior and Safety, Korea Expressway Corp.

Vehicles pass through the Seoul Seocho interchange on the Gyeongbu Expressway. [Yonhap]
Vehicles pass through the Seoul Seocho interchange on the Gyeongbu Expressway. [Yonhap]

Police conducted a nationwide joint crackdown on vehicles with large or habitual unpaid traffic fines, seizing license plates and recovering overdue amounts in bulk.

The Korean National Police Agency said Friday it launched the sweeping operation to strengthen the pursuit and collection of fines from long-term delinquents, ensure fairness toward those who pay on time, and build a safer society where everyone abides by the law.

The operation involved police agencies from across the country, the Ministry of Interior and Safety and the Korea Expressway Corporation. Police intercepted 544 vehicles with unpaid traffic fines and collected 269.87 million won ($200,000), while the expressway corporation targeted 77 vehicles with unpaid tolls and recovered 86.5 million won. Combined collections from 621 vehicles totaled 356.37 million won.

To improve enforcement efficiency, police used automatic license plate readers to identify delinquent vehicles, then applied an AI system to analyze their movement patterns in advance, allowing officers to select the most effective interception points.

Vehicles found to have committed illegal acts during the crackdown were also referred for criminal prosecution. Through a focused investigation into traffic law violations this year, police had sent 450 people to prosecutors as of August on charges including violating vehicle suspension orders and operating vehicles under illegal registration.

Police also stepped up action against habitual delinquents by seizing license plates from 137,282 vehicles between January and September — an increase of 57,005 vehicles, or 71 percent, compared with the same period last year. License plate seizure applies to vehicles that have accumulated 300,000 won or more in vehicle-related fines and remained unpaid for at least 60 days.

The tougher enforcement has made a dent in the backlog: the total outstanding balance of unpaid traffic fines fell by 92.5 billion won, or 8 percent, from 1.14 trillion won at the end of last year to 1.05 trillion won at the end of September.

Since August, the agency has been running joint pursuit-and-collection teams at each regional police agency, centered on 54 newly hired traffic fine collection officers and 486 existing fine-management staff. The teams investigate the assets of long-term and high-amount delinquents and pursue compulsory collection measures including vehicle and bank account seizures and license plate confiscation. They also took part in this crackdown.

Police said they plan to continue targeting habitual delinquent vehicles in cooperation with relevant agencies through the end of the year.

Ko Pyeong-gi, director general of the Korean National Police Agency's Lifestyle Safety and Traffic Bureau, said the agency would "thoroughly track and strictly respond to habitual and long-term delinquents," adding that it would work more closely with the National Tax Service and other relevant agencies to conduct detailed checks on delinquents and strengthen their management.


arin@heraldcorp.com