According to Ray Fisman and Edward Miguel’s report entitled Cultures of Corruption: Evidence from Diplomatic Parking Tickets (April 2006): “The act of parking illegally fits remarkably well with a standard definition of corruption, i.e., ‘the abuse of entrusted power for private gain,’ suggesting that the comparison of parking violations by diplomats from different societies serves as a credible measure of the extent of corruption cultural norms.”
The Korean government is getting ready to get tough on diplomats who violate the law. According to the Korea Times, the number of speeding violations by diplomats soared from 18 in 2006 to 212 in 2008, according to the ministry. Nearly 90 percent of traffic fines imposed on foreign diplomats between July 2004 and July 2008 – a total of some 72.6 million won ($61,500) – have yet to be paid, according the National Police Agency.
Who are those countries you ask – well, according to an earlier article, “The Russian embassy had the largest amount of citations, with 145 speeding tickets issued and 12.9 million won in cumulative unpaid fines during the cited period, followed by the Kazakhstan embassy with 35 tickets and the Chinese embassy with 34…”
Korea Times quotes a Korean official at the Supreme Prosecuters’ Office as saying, “Unlike in the United States and other countries, Korea has so far acknowledged diplomatic immunity without a system in place to notify respective governments of diplomats’ violations of the law. As illegal activities, such as driving under the influence of alcohol, have remained persistent among diplomats, we have come up with a way to deal with the matter in order to uphold law and order.”
Starting Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will notify countries of alleged violations of local laws committed by their diplomats here in Korea and, if necessary, local authorities may request a waiver of diplomatic immunity or expel the diplomat from the country, according to the measure.
But what about Korean diplomats in the United States? Apparently, and to many somewhat surprisingly, they are very law abiding in regards to paying off their traffic tickets.
Fisman and Miguel’s report examined unpaid traffic tickets in New York and noted that out of 146 embassies, the Korean embassy was ranked as the 119th worst traffic violator with an average of 0.4 unpaid traffic tickets per diplomatic staff member. Uk was 125th, Canada was 132nd, Japan was 140th and Turkey was 146th – all with an average of 0.0 unpaid tickets – pretty impressive. The worst violators were: 1st – Kuwait with 246.2 unpaid tickets per member; 2nd – Egypt with 139.6; 3rd – Chad with 124.3; 4th – Sudan with 119.1 and 5th – Bulgaria with 117.5
For those interested – here is a link to what American diplomats can and cannot be held responsible for.
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In Helsinki, South Korea has the 2nd biggest number of unpaid parking tickets (42) after Russia (108). But the number of unpaid fines per diplomat for Russia is only about two, whereas for Korea…
US diplomats paid all their 16 tickets. In total, somewhat over 600 tickets were issued in Helsinki in January-November this year, of which about 80 have been paid.
I remember when the French Cultural Center used to be in what is now I believe the Polish Embassy, French employees of the Center (an Embassy-run thingamabob cum pork barrel) would park wherever they could – mostly on the very wide pavement in front of the building, for lack of proper parking space. The vehicles, both with diplomatic plates and consular (준) ones would get a fine every single day. Of course the employees didn’t pay these fines — although I am sure they didn’t pay any other fines, even the legit ones. This was a long-standing disagreement between the Embassy and the MOFA, that ended only when the Center was moved.
I remember reading a similar article many years ago, lamenting the fact that France was one of the “worst” countries in regards to not paying the fines – most (but defo not all) were issued in front of the Cultural Center…
real question is when New York will finally evict the UN headquarters with all the scores of inept bureaucrats and crooks in it ?
You may have to wait awhile — the main building is undergoing a comprehensive renovation as we speak.
Yep, the Polish Embassy. My place is in that vicinity. The Poles park almost as often on that stretch of front sidewalk as the French did, but I rarely see the cars being ticketed anymore.
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