The Korean National Police Agency said Friday it has collected 101.6 billion won in long-overdue traffic fines after strengthening enforcement measures to combat chronic non-payment.
The agency launched intensified collection measures in January and conducted special crackdowns on license plate seizures. As a result, total forced collections of overdue traffic fines through April reached a figure roughly 49% higher than the 68.25 billion won collected during the same period last year.
According to the agency, 72,676 vehicle license plates were seized through April, nearly double the 34,546 plates seized in the same period last year. Fines collected through license plate seizures totaled approximately 31.8 billion won, a 115% jump from 14.75 billion won a year earlier.
Police also seized vehicles and bank deposits belonging to delinquent payers. Collections from these measures reached approximately 58.5 billion won and 11.2 billion won respectively this year, up about 34% and 14% from the same period last year.
Police thoroughly investigated whether delinquent payers were the actual drivers during on-site enforcement and license plate seizure operations. When a person who failed to pay a fine was confirmed to have actually driven the vehicle and violated traffic laws, the existing fine was revoked and converted into a penalty. Demerit points were then added to the driver's license, and license suspensions or revocations were carried out based on the accumulated points.
In the process, police also tracked down and arrested wanted fugitives. Officers additionally identified vehicles under operation suspension orders, vehicles registered under illegal names, and vehicles without mandatory insurance, leading to criminal proceedings. According to the agency, 32 wanted fugitives have been arrested and 134 criminal cases have been pursued this year.
"We will continue to track habitual and long-term delinquent payers to the end and respond firmly," an agency official said. "In the second half of the year, we plan to further strengthen collections by collaborating with the National Tax Service to visit delinquent payers' addresses and actively notify them of their unpaid fines."
