Gyeonggi Province Proposes Measures to End Illegal Tow Truck Towing Practices

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hoon Reporter] Through institutional improvement efforts at the provincial level, Gyeonggi Province has established systematic measures to eliminate improper practices such as forced towing by recovery-type special vehicles, commonly known as "tow trucks."

According to the province on the 16th, the revised 'Freight Vehicle Transportation Business Act Enforcement Rules' containing these measures will take effect on the 1st of next month.

The revised enforcement rules mandate that transportation operators and workers using recovery-type special vehicles to transport broken-down or accident-damaged vehicles must obtain a 'recovery consent form' from the vehicle owner before conducting any towing or recovery operations, and must notify the owner of total charges and fees either verbally or in writing.

If recovery operations are conducted without obtaining a recovery consent form, the operator can face administrative penalties including a 10-day suspension of vehicle operations.

This revision began when two civil servants from Gunpo City, Jo Ki-chun and Kim Dong-ki, who handle recovery-type special vehicle affairs, submitted an improvement proposal at the 'New Gyeonggi Proposal Contest 2019' held last year to address the injustices they had witnessed.

The primary objective is to institutionally prevent disputes caused by some operators forcibly towing vehicles without properly confirming the vehicle owner's intentions when they are confused by the accident, then billing them for the service.

The solution proposed by these two officials involved improving the related system to mandate operators to prepare a 'recovery consent form' clearly stating charges and fees, a proposal that was deemed valid and won first place in the 'New Gyeonggi Proposal Contest' and subsequently received a Presidential Commendation (Silver Medal) in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's '2019 Central Outstanding Proposal.'

Thereafter, Gyeonggi Province supplemented the improvement plan based on the proposals submitted by Jo and Kim, and through continuous consultation with relevant agencies including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, successfully achieved the revision of this enforcement rule.

The province anticipates that this enforcement rule revision will eliminate improper practices by recovery-type special vehicles and prevent administrative waste through reduced citizen complaints.

Additionally, the province attributes the cause of unfair fee charges to an 'unclear fee structure' resulting from the abolishment of standard recovery equipment rates in 1997, and plans to continuously propose institutional improvements including ▲ministerial designation of transportation rates reported by operators ▲specific designation of charges for recovery equipment such as dollies and winches.

According to the province, specifying the existing ambiguous method of calculating charges and fees for recovery-type special vehicles—which are currently determined through agreements between parties and customs—would prevent disputes and citizen complaints arising from towing fees.

Nam Gil-woo, Director of the Logistics and Port Division, stated, "This revision of the Freight Vehicle Transportation Act Enforcement Rules is the result of Gyeonggi Province civil servants and operational departments working together to eliminate everyday abuses," and added, "We will continue to seek solutions to fundamentally address problems including support for recovery-type special vehicle operators."