An official displays the new nationwide motorcycle license plate at the Suwon Urban Development Corporation’s license plate production center in Gwonseon-gu, Suwon, on March 18, ahead of its introduction on the 20th. The photo is unrelated to the article. (Yonhap)
A supposedly random license plate system in Gwangju was manipulated hundreds of times by district office employees to secure coveted “golden numbers” such as 7777 and 5555, an internal audit found.
Gwangju’s Seo-gu Office said Thursday that it would seek disciplinary action against employees who improperly reserved and assigned highly sought-after license plate numbers between 2023 and February 2026.
The audit, conducted between February and last month, examined 16 employees in the district’s transportation administration division.
Auditors found that employees manipulated the registration system to secure preferred number combinations requested by vehicle registration agencies. South Korea’s vehicle registration system normally presents car owners with 10 randomly generated plate numbers, from which they choose one.
According to the audit, employees first assigned preferred numbers to ordinary applicants and then used their authority to cancel or amend the registrations, causing the numbers to remain available in the system.
The reserved numbers were later manually assigned to specific vehicles requested by registration agencies.
The favored combinations included four-digit repeating numbers such as 5555 and 7777, numbers with three repeated digits such as 6999 and 8880, and symbolic numbers including 1004, which is pronounced similarly to the Korean word for “angel,” and 9111.
Authorities identified roughly 350 improper registrations. Many of the vehicles that received the numbers were reportedly high-end imported cars, while some belonged to corporations.
The district office said it confirmed that employees had accepted requests from vehicle registration agencies seeking preferred plate numbers.
Auditors also found that five officials, including contract workers, received free meals from agency representatives, though no evidence of direct cash payments or other financial bribes was found.
Of the 16 employees investigated, 10 were found to have participated in the scheme. The district office plans to request disciplinary review for six of them, including three who could face severe sanctions and three who could receive lighter penalties. The remaining four will receive warnings or reprimands.
jychoi@heraldcorp.com
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