"Manage Branch Offices, Not Just Main Rent-a-Car Offices" ... Rep. Kim Tae-ho Introduces Amendment to the Passenger Transport Service Act

Assemblyman Kim Tae-ho

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Kim Tae-ho, a member of the People Power Party, officially proposed an amendment to the 'Passenger Automobile Transportation Business Act' on the 25th.

The amendment aims to transfer administrative tasks related to rental car offices to the local authorities of their locations to eradicate illegal rental car operations.

According to current laws, the registration of the main office, branches, and reservation offices of car rental businesses, as well as administrative tasks such as vehicle registration and deregistration, management, supervision, and administrative sanctions, are all handled by the local authorities where the main office is located.

According to a report by the Korea Consumer Agency, rental car-related damage relief applications increased annually from 253 cases in 2018, 276 cases in 2019, to 342 cases in 2020, prompting the issuance of a consumer damage advisory for rental cars.

Since the current law stipulates that administrative tasks and punishment authority related to rental cars are based on the main office, guidance and crackdowns on branches and reservation offices located outside the main office area have not been properly conducted, leading to continuous calls for improvement.

Representative Kim Tae-ho stated, "Through this amendment, the authority over rental car operations and sanctions should be managed by the mayors and governors responsible for the locations of branches and reservation offices, enabling efficient management and supervision of the car rental business and blocking illegal rental vehicle operations."

He also added, "Systematic management and supervision of unregistered rental car offices should be implemented to stabilize non-face-to-face services that will lead the future AI and autonomous vehicle market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.