Many of Korea’s no-parking rules are distances written into the law. Within 5 meters of an intersection corner, within 10 meters of a bus stop or crosswalk, and on the sidewalk, you can’t even stop. These distances come from the law itself, so they apply whether or not a sign is posted.
This guide covers where stopping and parking are banned and what a ticket costs for a car. It also explains towing, and who gets the bill when the car was a rental.
The short answer
- No stopping, no parking: intersections, crosswalks, railroad crossings, sidewalks, and set distances from corners, bus stops, crosswalks and fire hydrants. Children’s protection zones count too.
- Cost for a passenger car: KRW 40,000 for most spots, KRW 80,000 at a marked fire-facility spot, and KRW 120,000 in a children’s protection zone between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Each rises by KRW 10,000 if the car stays two hours or more in the same place.
- Who pays: the fine is issued by the city, county or district office and goes to the person responsible for the car. On a rental, that is normally the renter.
- Disability parking spaces are covered by a separate law. Parking in one without a permit costs KRW 100,000.
Stopping and parking are different things
Article 2 of the Road Traffic Act (도로교통법) defines both. Stopping (정차) means halting the car for no more than 5 minutes, in a way that isn’t parking.
Parking (주차) is keeping the car stationary to wait for passengers, load cargo, deal with a breakdown or for any other reason. It also covers leaving the car so you can’t drive it away at once. So stepping away from the car, even briefly, can make a stop count as parking.
The difference matters because the law has two lists. Some places ban both, and some ban parking only.
Where you can’t stop or park
Article 32 of the Road Traffic Act bans both stopping and parking in these places:
| Place | Distance |
|---|---|
| Intersections, crosswalks and railroad crossings | On them |
| Sidewalks on roads where the sidewalk is separate from the roadway | On them (except on-street parking lots marked across both) |
| The edge of an intersection or a road corner | Within 5 m |
| A safety zone (안전지대) | Within 10 m on every side |
| A bus stop post, sign or line | Within 10 m |
| The edge of a railroad crossing, or a crosswalk | Within 10 m |
| Fire hydrants, water towers and water tanks for firefighting, emergency fire-fighting devices (비상소화장치), and certain fire-department inlets on buildings | Within 5 m |
| Places the provincial police designate | As signed |
| Children’s protection zones (school zones) designated by local governments | Inside the zone |
For reference, 5 m is about 16 feet and 10 m about 33 feet (our conversions). The building fire-department inlets are those listed in Article 10-3 of the Enforcement Decree. They include sprinkler and standpipe connections.
Buses may stop at their own stops to pick up and drop off passengers. Article 32 also allows a stop when you’re following police instructions, or halting briefly to avoid danger.
Places where you can stop but not park
Article 33 adds a second list where a quick stop is fine but parking isn’t:
- Inside tunnels and on bridges
- Within 5 m of either edge of a road construction area
- Within 5 m of certain buildings housing multi-use businesses, where the fire department has asked the police to designate the spot
- Other places the provincial police designate
When a sign says otherwise
Signs can open some banned spots. Under Article 34-2, where the provincial police allow stopping or parking by sign, setting the area, hours, method and vehicle type, you may park there. That applies to police-designated spots, children’s protection zones and police-designated no-parking spots.
The distance rules for corners, crosswalks, bus stops and fire facilities aren’t on that list. Read the sign for the hours and vehicle types it allows.
How to stop and park legally
Article 34 and Article 11 of the Enforcement Decree set the basic method. When stopping on a road, pull over to the right edge of the roadway. If the road has no separate sidewalk, leave at least 50 cm (about 20 inches) from the right edge.
On the road, follow the place, hours and method the provincial police set. Don’t block other traffic.
On a slope, Article 34-3 requires steps to stop the car rolling, such as placing a wheel chock or turning the wheels toward the edge of the road. That applies to slopes off the road as well.
What a parking ticket costs
The amounts below are administrative fines (과태료) under Annexes 6 and 7 of the Enforcement Decree of the Road Traffic Act. The annexes split vehicles into two classes:
- Passenger car class (승용자동차등): passenger cars and trucks of 4 metric tons or less.
- Van class (승합자동차등): vans and buses (승합자동차), trucks over 4 metric tons, special vehicles, construction machinery and trams.
| Where | Passenger car class | Van class |
|---|---|---|
| Most no-stopping and no-parking spots | KRW 40,000 (50,000) | KRW 50,000 (60,000) |
| Fire-facility spot marked with a safety sign | KRW 80,000 (90,000) | KRW 90,000 (100,000) |
| Children’s protection zone, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. | KRW 120,000 (130,000) | KRW 130,000 (140,000) |
| A no-stopping or no-parking spot inside a senior or disability protection zone, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. | KRW 80,000 (90,000) | KRW 90,000 (100,000) |
Amounts in brackets apply when the car stays in the same place for two hours or more. A fire-facility spot without the safety sign is charged at the ordinary rate.
Local governments put the safety sign at fire-facility spots they consider especially important for firefighting, under Article 10-3(2) of the decree. Article 88(4) applies the higher protection-zone amounts only from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Senior and disability protection zones don’t ban parking as a whole. Their row applies when you use one of the banned spots listed earlier inside such a zone.
Outside 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., a children’s protection zone still bans stopping and parking, at the ordinary rate of KRW 40,000 for a car.
The parking rows of these tables don’t list motorcycles, so this guide covers cars, vans and trucks only.
Parking fine lookup
For cars, vans and trucks. Pick where the car was and how long it stayed.
Amounts from Annexes 6 and 7 of the Enforcement Decree of the Road Traffic Act, and Annex 3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Guarantee of Convenience Promotion for Persons with Disabilities, the Aged and Pregnant Women. Last checked October 16, 2026. This shows the standard amount, not a legal decision. Check the notice for what you actually owe.
How the ticket reaches you
Under Article 88(2) of the decree, the local office either puts a notice on the car and photographs it, or records it with enforcement cameras. The fine then goes to the person responsible for the car, not necessarily the driver.
Annex 8 of the decree also sets a driver’s fine (범칙금) for these violations, which police can issue to an identified driver. That is a separate process with its own amounts. Our guide to speed camera fines explains how the two routes differ, and how early payment can reduce an administrative fine.
Disability parking spaces
Disability-only parking spaces (장애인전용주차구역) fall under the Act on Guarantee of Convenience Promotion for Persons with Disabilities, the Aged and Pregnant Women (장애인ㆍ노인ㆍ임산부 등의 편의증진 보장에 관한 법률). Article 17 bans parking there without a disability parking permit. It also bans parking with a permit when no one with a walking disability is in the car.
The fine is KRW 100,000 in either case, under Annex 3 of that Act’s Enforcement Decree. Blocking a space, for example by leaving objects in it or blocking its access path, costs KRW 500,000.
Annex 3 lets the issuing office lower or raise these amounts by up to half, depending on the case. A raised fine still can’t exceed the Act’s ceilings of KRW 200,000 and KRW 1,000,000.
The permit Article 17 refers to is one issued in Korea, by the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs or a local government head. Article 17 says nothing about foreign permits, so don’t assume yours counts.
Towing
Article 35 lets the police and local governments order an illegally parked car moved when it could cause danger or block traffic. In some cases they can change how the car is parked themselves or, where unavoidable, have it moved to a place they designate.
The office must then tell the car’s user or driver and arrange its return. If no one claims it within one month of that notice, the car can be sold or scrapped.
Towing, storage and related costs fall on the car’s user. Article 36 lets offices hand towing and storage to contractors. We haven’t checked the amounts, so ask the office named on the notice.
If you were driving a rental car
When the violation is shown by photo or video and the driver can’t be identified, Article 160(3) lets the office fine the person responsible for the car, up to KRW 200,000. As our speed camera guide sets out, the law counts a renter as that person. It excludes the rental company when it is clear the company only rented the car out.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission’s model rental contract names parking fines among the charges the renter owes from the rental period. Ask at pick-up how your company handles fines that arrive after you’ve left Korea. Our guide to renting a car in Korea covers what the law and rental companies each require at pick-up.
Checking and paying a parking fine
Article 161(1) assigns parking fines to the mayor, county head or district head (시장등), and to the governor in Jeju. Speed camera fines, by contrast, come from the provincial police. So the office to contact is the one named on your notice.
Parking fines are local non-tax revenue (세외수입), not taxes. Wetax, Korea’s online site for local taxes, has a menu for local non-tax revenue due (지방세외수입 납부대상). It also has one for submitting an opinion on an administrative fine (과태료 의견제출신청).
When we opened Wetax on October 16, 2026, we found no English menu. We haven’t confirmed that every parking fine can be paid there, so follow the payment options on your notice. If you think a fine is wrong, contact the issuing office named on the notice. A rental company can tell you what it charges under your contract, but it can’t decide the legal question.
Before you park
- Count the meters: 5 m from corners and fire hydrants, 10 m from bus stops and crosswalks.
- Assume no stopping in a school zone unless a sign says parking is allowed, and remember the higher daytime fines.
- Leave the car only where parking is allowed. Stepping away from it can turn a stop into parking.
- Don’t use a disability parking space without a Korean permit.
- On a slope, turn the wheels toward the curb or use a wheel chock.
- If you rent, keep your contract and ask how parking fines are passed on.
Last checked: October 16, 2026. Sources: Road Traffic Act, Articles 2, 32, 33, 34, 34-2, 34-3, 35, 36, 160 and 161, Enforcement Decree of the Road Traffic Act, Articles 10-3, 11 and 88 and Annexes 6, 7 and 8, Framework Act on Firefighting, Article 10, Act on Guarantee of Convenience Promotion for Persons with Disabilities, the Aged and Pregnant Women, Articles 17 and 27 and its Enforcement Decree, Annex 3 (Korean Law Information Center, in Korean); Standard Terms for Car Rental No. 10064 (Korea Fair Trade Commission, in Korean); Wetax (in Korean).
Leave a Reply