South Korea Removes Women-Only Parking Spaces

South Korea’s capital, Seoul, is removing women-only parking spaces, which were introduced 14 years earlier for the protection of women. The women-only spots were instituted in 2009 after a series of violent crimes in basement car parks.

City officials recently said that such spaces are no longer required and will be converted to family parking spots. Critics, however, say that the removal of women-only parking slots is the latest example of anti-feminist policies in South Korea.

Women-Only Parking Removed In Seoul

Chung Eun-jung said that she used female-only parking slots whenever possible. "I feel safer when I use them, knowing that there are not so many dangerous people close by."

"When I get in the car, I always lock the door right away," said the 55-year-old, who was well aware of car park crime, which is frequently reported in the news. Her daughter said that she was concerned that her mother would now feel less safe.

"It's strange that they'd actively get rid of something that makes women feel safe," Park Young-seo, 27, said.

They’re not that big of a deal. "It's not like half the parking lot is reserved for women; there are only a few spots," she explained.

According to government data, 2021 showed more than two-thirds of violent crimes committed in the city’s parking lot were sexual crimes, including rape, sexual assault, and harassment.

The mayor of Seoul, Oh Se-hoon, who introduced the women-only parking spaces, is now reversing his own policy. "It is time to consider families," he said.

The new family parking slots will be available to pregnant women and families who travel with children. The city council confirmed that women who did not fit into these two criteria would not be allowed to park in those spots.

This move feeds into what critics call a "culture of anti-feminism" that has characterised South Korean politics for the past few years.

However, men in South Korea argue that policies designed to advance women are discriminatory.

The term "gender equality" has been removed from school ethics curriculum by the current government, which is also trying to shut down its gender equality ministry.

Oh Kyung-jin, a member of the Korean Women’s Association, is disappointed that the women-only spaces are being removed but is more concerned about the wider trend. "The government is trying to push ahead with anti-feminist policies, and now we can see these regressive policies feeding through into local governments," she said.

Male pilot Cho Young Jae, 34, however, thinks that women-only spaces need to be removed because they are discriminatory against men. "Walking 100 metres more does not make you less safe, and these days, parking areas are covered in surveillance cameras," He said.

The concept of women-only parking spaces was first introduced in Germany in the 1990s. Critics argue that they reinforced the stereotype that women find it difficult to park because these parking spots are longer and wider. However, they are larger because it was assumed that women, who provide the majority of childcare in South Korea, would appreciate the extra space to get their children in and out of the car.

The Seoul government plans to start converting the women-only parking lots to family parking lots at the end of March 2023.

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