(C) NKNews

SEOUL, South Korea — The Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) announced today that it will launch a month-long, nationwide crackdown on illegal vehicles starting November 17th. This campaign aims to tackle the growing number of violations, particularly those related to safety standards, illegal modifications, and abandoned vehicles, which pose risks to public safety and undermine urban aesthetics.

The focused enforcement targets include commercial vehicles, such as cargo trucks, that fail to attach reflective sheeting on the rear, illegally modified vehicles ("Illegal Tuning"), and vehicles left abandoned without authorization. The operation is a joint effort involving MOLIT, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the National Police Agency, and local governments.

This intensified action comes in response to a significant surge in illegal vehicle infractions. Data from the first half of the year revealed 229,582 violations, a sharp 33.7% increase compared to the same period last year (171,693 cases). Of these, 9,157 cases resulted in fines, 2,685 led to criminal prosecution, and 71,903 license plates were confiscated.

The most dramatic rise was observed in violations of safety standards, which soared by 77.7% year-over-year, accounting for 100,019 cases, largely due to the failure to affix reflective tape on cargo truck rears. Other persistent illegal activities also saw considerable increases: unregistered vehicles rose by 62.3% (2,081 cases), and illegal modifications climbed by 23.6% (12,074 cases). Overall, illegal vehicle infractions have been steadily rising over the past five years, jumping from 250,000 in 2020 to 351,000 last year, a trend the ministry attributes in part to the active citizen reporting via the "Safety Sinmungo" mobile app.

For the upcoming campaign, authorities will prioritize the crackdown on safety standard violations and unauthorized abandoned vehicles. The enforcement will also be strictly applied to two-wheeled vehicles (motorcycles) involved in illegal activities, such as:

Unlawfully modified mufflers or lighting systems (Illegal Tuning).
Driving without a license plate, or with a damaged or concealed license plate.
Furthermore, to more effectively catch vehicles with overdue inspections, lapsed mandatory insurance, or tax arrears—which constituted the majority of license plate confiscations in the first half—authorities plan to actively utilize and interconnect various government information systems.

Bae So-myeong, Director of MOLIT’s Automobile Management and Insurance Division, stated, “With the goal of securing public safety, we will do our utmost to establish a mature environment for vehicle operation.”