“No escaping unpaid fines and tolls”: 621 vehicles caught, with 356 million won outstanding

[Financial News] The police, working with relevant agencies, cracked down on 621 vehicles with habitual payment arrears nationwide. The vehicles had about 356 million won in unpaid debts. The police plan to step up enforcement using artificial intelligence (AI) and strengthen follow-up collection through dedicated personnel.
According to the National Police Agency on the 16th, the police conducted a nationwide joint crackdown the previous day on vehicles with large and habitual payment arrears, together with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), local governments and the Korea Expressway Corporation. A total of 1,699 people took part: 331 police officers, 1,273 MOIS personnel and 95 Korea Expressway Corporation employees.
The crackdown caught 621 vehicles with unpaid fines and tolls. The police confirmed that 544 vehicles with unpaid fines owed 269,879,270 won. These involved 3,636 cases. The Korea Expressway Corporation cracked down on 77 vehicles with unpaid tolls, recording 86.5 million won in arrears across 4,940 cases.
Before the crackdown, the police used AI systems and other tools to analyze the routes and driving patterns of vehicles with unpaid debts. Based on the analysis, they selected enforcement locations and used automated vehicle recognition devices and other equipment on site to check whether fines and tolls had been paid.
The number of vehicles whose license plates were seized by the police for unpaid debts has also risen sharply this year. From January to September, plates were seized from 137,282 vehicles, up 57,005 (71%) from 80,277 in the same period last year. The arrears owed by those vehicles increased 85.3%, from 33.9 billion won to 62.8 billion won.
Under the relevant laws, license plates may be seized if vehicle-related fines of at least 300,000 won remain unpaid for 60 days or more. The plates are returned once payment of the outstanding amount is confirmed.
Since August, the police have operated joint follow-up collection teams at Provincial Police Agencies nationwide. A total of 54 traffic-fine delinquency officers newly hired this year and 486 existing fine-handling staff are investigating the assets of long-term and high-value defaulters and seizing vehicles and bank deposits, as well as impounding license plates. Recruitment is also underway for 46 additional delinquency officers.
The police are also pursuing criminal penalties for people caught driving vehicles subject to an operation suspension order or vehicles registered under illegal names. Under the Motor Vehicle Management Act, offenders may face up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won. Habitual nonpayment of tolls may constitute the offense of fraudulent use of convenience facilities, punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 5 million won.
By the end of August, the police had referred 450 people to prosecutors on suspicion of violating vehicle operation suspension orders and driving illegally registered vehicles, among other offenses, through focused investigations into so-called “ghost cars.”
If it is confirmed that a person delinquent on fines personally drove a vehicle and violated traffic laws, the police plan to cancel the administrative fine and convert it into a penalty fine. They also plan to impose driver’s license demerit points and enforce license suspensions or revocations based on the points accrued.
From January to September, 866 cases involved converting administrative fines into penalty fines; the cases included 13 driver’s license suspensions and six revocations.
Ko Pyeong-gi, director of the National Police Agency’s Public Safety and Traffic Bureau, stressed, “We will continue to thoroughly track habitual and long-term defaulters and respond firmly,” adding, “In cooperation with relevant agencies, including the National Tax Service, we will make even greater efforts to closely assess defaulters’ circumstances and strengthen oversight.”
[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter