Gangnam-gu to Cut Nighttime Public Parking Fees by 50%

25 Public Off-Street Parking Lots Eligible Starting July 16
Save up to 28,800 Won for 12 Hours of Parking

Starting at midnight on July 16, Gangnam-gu in Seoul (District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi) will reduce nighttime parking fees by 50 percent at 25 public off-street parking lots. The goal is to utilize empty parking spaces at public lots during nighttime hours as residential parking alternatives.

Gangnam District Office Building. Provided by Gangnam District.

The discounted rate applies from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. the following day. The reduced fee is automatically applied through unmanned payment machines and the integrated control center system, with no separate application procedure needed. Vehicles already eligible for existing discounts—such as electric cars and multi-child families—can enjoy overlapping discounts, but vehicles with monthly parking passes are not eligible for the new reduction.

Public off-street parking lots in Gangnam-gu are divided into four zones. The fees per five minutes are as follows: Zone 1, 400 won; Zone 2, 300 won; Zone 3, 200 won; and Zone 4, 100 won. The current discount applies to Zones 1 to 3. For instance, using a Zone 1 parking lot for 12 hours from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. would result in a reduced fee from 57,600 won to 28,800 won.

The reason behind this policy, according to the district, is the high disparity between daytime and nighttime occupancy rates. The average overall occupancy rate of public off-street parking lots was 63.1 percent during the day but dropped to just 32.8 percent at night. Excluding monthly pass holders, the hourly parking vehicle occupancy fell from 43.7 percent during the day to 12.2 percent at night, and especially between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., it hovered at just 6 to 7 percent.

The district’s plan is to incentivize greater nighttime use of public parking lots through lower fees and thereby reduce illegal parking on residential backstreets. While creating new parking spaces would require both time and money, officials explained that utilizing empty spaces in existing public lots can alleviate parking shortages without additional development.

District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi commented, “It has always been difficult to find parking at night in residential areas, but many public parking lots had spaces available overnight. We intend for this public off-street parking fee reduction to become a solution to local parking shortages.” He added, “We will continue to expand tangible parking welfare programs so that residents can enjoy a more convenient living environment.”

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