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Last month, we reported on audit findings that Incheon Airport's notorious parking shortage was partly due to parking privileges granted to resident staff. Starting tomorrow, July 1, Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) will implement improvement measures, including securing more spaces for passengers. However, the plan is facing backlash from within.

Reporter An Huijae has the story.

[Reporter]

Vehicles are packed tightly against the backdrop of aircraft in the distance.

A warning notice, placed a week ago, is visible on a car occupying a pedestrian walkway instead of a parking space.

This is the state of the parking lots at Incheon Airport, which has earned the reputation of a parking hell.

[Lee Heung-sik / Paju, Gyeonggi Province: It is inconvenient. Every time I come here, there is nowhere to park. There is no space today either; it is completely full.]

There was another reason for the severe parking shortage beyond the overwhelming number of airport passengers.

An audit by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport revealed the abuse of parking permits and poor management practices.

Last year alone, parking fees exempted for employees of the Incheon International Airport Corporation and its subsidiaries amounted to 4.1 billion won.

The situation sparked public outrage after it was confirmed that regular parking permits were frequently used for personal purposes, such as vacations.

One month after the audit results were announced, the airport corporation has unveiled its improvement plan.

The number of regular parking permits for resident staff, which previously reached 30,000, will be slashed by half to 15,000, and the requirements for issuance will be tightened.

Unlike the areas near the airport terminals, these more distant parking lots are completely empty.

The airport corporation plans to designate such areas for employee use to improve space efficiency.

The corporation expects that more than 500 parking spaces will be secured for airport passengers as a result.

However, employees are pushing back, complaining that the announcement was made unilaterally. Suspicions have also emerged regarding discriminatory application of the rules between corporation employees and subsidiary staff.

[Lee Ho-hyun / Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union, Incheon Airport Regional Branch: It should be a genuine improvement plan that secures public interest, such as building new parking lots, rather than a regressive measure that squeezes airport employees and forces them to bear the burden.]

The corporation stated, "We will apply the same standards regardless of affiliation," and added that they will refine the measures while conducting a trial operation starting tomorrow.

(Video by Kim Young-hwan | Video Editing by Kim Jong-mi)