A church in Incheon is under police investigation after suspicions emerged that it arbitrarily painted over the road's centerline with black paint to erase it because vehicle access was inconvenient. The damaged centerline was repainted following police advice to restore it.
According to Bupyeong District in Incheon and police on the 10th, the Bupyeong Police Station is investigating Bupyeong Methodist Church on suspicion of violating the Road Traffic Act.
The road in question was expanded to a three-lane, two-way road 15 meters wide from an existing 8-meter-wide side street during the Bupyeong District 2 redevelopment project. The redevelopment association installed a centerline when it widened the road last year.
After the centerline was installed, the church said it became difficult to allow vehicles to enter the church from the opposite lane and reportedly asked the redevelopment association and Bupyeong District to remove a portion of the centerline.
However, when the request was not accepted due to delays in road completion, the church reportedly painted black over about 12 meters of the centerline in front of the entrance to erase it on its own. Police are also said to have identified indications during the investigation that bollards installed on the road were pulled out.
Police confirmed on the 16th of last month at the scene that the centerline had been damaged and launched an investigation. Considering traffic safety, they then advised the redevelopment association, which manages the road, to restore the centerline. The association recently repainted the damaged centerline yellow and is understood to have completed the restoration.
The Road Traffic Act prohibits arbitrarily damaging or destroying traffic safety facilities such as centerlines.