‘Illegal occupation’ camper headaches despite free car parks

RVs have been a huge hit during the pandemic, but now they’re토토사이트 becoming a pain in the arse to find a place to park.

There’s also the issue of people monopolising free parking spaces in parks during the busy holiday season by parking their RVs for long periods of time.

RV owners complain that there are no dedicated parking spaces.

Reporter Kim Dan-bi was on the scene.

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RVs and caravans are parked in a row in the park’s car park.

They even have chocks on their wheels to prevent them from being towed away.

Many of the cars don’t even have contact numbers.

Another public car park nearby.

Only one caravan is overgrown with weeds.

It hadn’t been moved in a while.

This is a free car park for anyone to use where motorhomes are parked for long periods of time.

RV owners complain that they don’t have enough space to park.

[RV owner]
“I have nowhere to put my motorhome, it doesn’t even fit in my apartment.”

They emphasise the need for dedicated car parks as the number of motorhomes has increased since COVID-19.

[RV owner]
“They shouldn’t just crack down in each neighbourhood, they should make sure that each neighbourhood has a car park where you can (park) your motorhome…”

There is also a debate about equity and favouritism – whether it makes sense to put aside tax money for a minority when there is a shortage of regular parking spaces.

For residents, it has become a daily complaint.

[Inbok Lee/Resident]
“I wish they wouldn’t, but aesthetically speaking… it’s all caravans here.”

Local governments are also facing challenges.

A 2020 amendment to the law requires motorhomes to register their garages, but it doesn’t apply to motorhomes registered before the amendment.

There are no penalties for parking elsewhere, and it is difficult for local governments to enforce long-term parking.

[Yeosu City official]
“We have to go out and put up notices, and there are a lot of car parks involved, so it’s hard to check each one…”

The number of motorhome registrations nationwide has surged from around 4,000 in 2014 to over 30,000 in 2021.