Program covers vehicles from registered home-visit medical institutions

Designated placard must be displayed on windshield

A notice for the parking enforcement exemption placard to be issued by the Yongsan-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. [Yongsan-gu]
A notice for the parking enforcement exemption placard to be issued by the Yongsan-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. [Yongsan-gu]

Yongsan-gu in Seoul will launch a parking exemption program for home-visit medical vehicles starting Sunday, the district announced Tuesday.

The program aims to ease parking difficulties and enforcement burdens faced by visiting medical staff, improving healthcare access for residents with limited mobility.

A total of 35 institutions in Yongsan-gu currently provide home-visit medical services, including three long-term care home medical centers and 32 institutions participating in a primary care home-visit pilot program.

The program applies to vehicles from registered home-visit and primary care medical institutions in the district. Eligible vehicles must display a dedicated parking placard issued by the public health center on the lower portion of the windshield.

The district will apply an enforcement grace period of one to one and a half hours — based on average home-visit duration — in general parking enforcement zones such as residential streets, alleyways and areas near commercial buildings. However, the exemption does not apply in school zones, within 5 meters of fire department facilities, within 5 meters of intersection corners, on crosswalks and stop lines, or within 10 meters of bus stops.

The public health center will issue and manage the placards directly. If misuse is confirmed, the placard will be immediately revoked and reissuance will be barred for one year.

In addition, the district expanded its illegal parking enforcement hours Monday, extending the window from the previous 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m. to 10:30 a.m.–3 p.m., adding one hour of coverage.

"A small consideration for home-visit medical vehicles can translate into essential medical services for neighbors with limited mobility," Yongsan-gu District Mayor Kim Kyung-dae said. "We will build an integrated care system that allows residents to maintain a healthy daily life in the communities where they have lived."


ikson@heraldcorp.com