Seongdong-gu Opens Idle Home Parking Spaces to Tackle Chronic Shortage — and Let Owners Earn

Seoul's Seongdong-gu district is recruiting participants for its residential parking-sharing project, which runs from June through November, as part of an effort to ease chronic parking shortages and promote the sharing economy.

The project opens up private residential parking spaces — left empty when owners commute or go out — for use by other residents. Officials say it offers a cost-effective, fast alternative to building large public parking lots, which require enormous budgets and are constrained by limited available sites.

Homeowners in the district who wish to share their parking spaces are eligible to participate. To encourage broader participation, the district will fully cover the initial setup costs required to build out the parking-sharing system.

For each parking space, the district will directly provide support of up to 2 million won, covering IoT parking sensors linked to a smartphone app, security CCTV cameras, parking-space line painting, and shared-parking signage.

The project is designed as a mutually beneficial model that puts idle parking spaces to work for the community while also rewarding homeowners. Participating owners sign a bilateral agreement with a professional parking-sharing company and receive a share of the revenue generated when outside users park in their spaces. The arrangement is expected to deliver a dual benefit: helping neighbors find parking while generating additional income for the homeowner.

Homeowners interested in joining the project or seeking further details can contact the Traffic Management Division of the Seongdong-gu District Office.

"The small act of sharing an idle parking space at home with neighbors can make a real difference in easing local parking shortages," a district official said. "We hope many homeowners will take an interest and join, given that initial setup costs are covered and there is real income to be earned through parking sharing."