Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME) pushed back against the Enforcement Decree of the Road Traffic Act partial amendment, which the Korean National Police Agency gave advance notice of legislation for and which contains the imposition of fines for illegal parking and stopping by two-wheeled vehicles, saying it is a system that fails to consider on-site conditions.
On the 8th, the federation issued a statement saying, "We agree with the purpose of ensuring pedestrian safety, but we express deep concern and strong regret over the government's one-sided traffic control practices that prioritize crackdowns and penalties without even providing the minimum parking infrastructure to legally park motorcycles."
The Korean National Police Agency last month gave advance notice of a draft decree to impose fines ranging from a minimum of 30,000 won to a maximum of 90,000 won on owners of two-wheeled vehicles that are illegally parked or stopped, even if the driver is not present at the scene.
The federation's position is that delivery services play an essential role for neighborhood commercial districts and micro businesses. With sluggish domestic demand dragging on, restaurants, cafes and small retailers are heavily dependent on delivery and logistics using two-wheeled vehicles, meaning related regulations could directly affect their operations.
The federation said, "Uniform crackdowns that do not consider the characteristics of areas dense with businesses, where vehicles must frequently park or stop for loading and unloading, will lead to logistics paralysis in neighborhood commercial districts and a contraction in deliveries," adding, "If a previously nonexistent system is created just to pass the damage on to micro business owners and riders, it is clear the ripple effect will boomerang into consumer harm."
Song Chi-young, head of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME), said, "As important as creating a safe pedestrian environment is people's 'livelihoods,'" adding, "We oppose this amendment, which ignores the reality of the struggling grassroots economy, and we will continue to represent voices from the field until fundamental infrastructure measures are put in place."