Car owner apologizes for tantrum over parking sticker

A woman in her 50s who blocked the entrance of an apartment parking lot with her car in a fit of anger over a parking sticker apologized after the incident was reported in the media and was met with a fierce backlash from other residents.

Four days of aggression and tit-for-tat over a Camry parked in front of the car park entrance ended as the car owner apologized Thursday evening.

The whole brouhaha started when the 51-year-old resident of the apartment complex in Songdo, Incheon, found a parking violation sticker on her Camry. The sticker had been placed there because the car did not have a resident decal. 

The decals had been distributed in May by a group representing residents of the complex, along with a notice that cars without the decals would be regarded as nonresident vehicles. 

On Sunday, a resident representative placed a “no parking” sticker on the Camry in the basement car park, in accordance with the rules.

Having gotten the sticker previously for parking in a spot reserved for drivers with disabilities, the Camry owner stopped by the apartment guardhouse on her way home the next day to complain.

A staff member asked her to contact the management office, which handles the parking stickers.

In a fury, the woman parked her car across the car park entrance and left the scene.

After more than six hours, about 20 residents, annoyed at the inconvenience, put oil on the car’s wheels and pushed it to the sidewalk next to the entrance. They placed safety blocks around the vehicle and reported the vehicle owner to the police.

The woman, however, called the management office and said she would not move her car unless the management office removed the sticker and apologized.

Appalled at the woman’s behavior, residents began placing Post-it notes on the car with messages for the car owner.

A photo of the vehicle covered with Post-it notes went viral on the internet, and was even televised on the news.

On Thursday, the fourth day of the Camry’s placement on the sidewalk, the owner tried to move the vehicle with the help of a used car dealer.

Some residents, however, placed locks on the vehicle so that it could not be towed, and urged the car owner to apologize.

The Camry owner apologized to the residents that evening in a statement delivered to the resident representatives, ending the “car park blockage” incident. She also said that she planned to move.

Police and the district office said it was difficult for them to interfere in parking disputes on private property, where traffic regulations do not apply.

The law on motor vehicle management stipulates, however, that the mayor or the head of the district office must issue an order to take appropriate measures against vehicles left unattended on another person’s land without any justifiable cause.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)