A woman rushes to reserve a spot at a parking lot in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, as a car prepares to leave, during the Chuseok holiday. Captured from Han Moon-chul TV YouTube

A video showing a woman blocking a parking spot with her body in a parking lot has gone viral, drawing widespread criticism.

The incident was shared on the YouTube channel "Han Moon-chul TV" on Tuesday under the title, "I spent 30 minutes looking for a parking spot, only to have a woman rush in to reserve it."

According to the video, the incident occurred during the Chuseok holiday at Lotte Premium Outlet in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. The parking lot was completely full due to the large number of visitors.

The video uploader, identified as A, said that he had been circling the parking lot for 20-30 minutes in search of a spot. When a car finally began to pull out, A prepared to reverse into the space. However, as soon as the spot opened up, a woman ran from the opposite direction and stood in the middle of the parking space, effectively blocking his car.

The video shows the woman making a phone call while standing in the space. When A asked her what she was doing, she simply replied, "A car is coming," and continued to stand her ground.

Despite A's attempts to back into the space, the woman did not move until he insisted by inching his car closer, at which point she finally stepped aside. A expressed his frustration, saying, "It's supposed to be a car that parks, not a person. What car is coming?" According to A, the woman eventually left to find another spot.

A woman rushes to reserve a parking spot at Lotte Premium Outlet in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. Captured from Han Moon-chul TV's YouTube Channel

Parking disputes lead to legislative proposals

A shared his disbelief, saying, "I never thought I'd experience something like this in real life — only on TV. It's really absurd. We should all avoid such selfish behavior that goes beyond common sense."

Lawyer Han Moon-chul, who runs the YouTube channel, said, "In most cases, people come first, but when it comes to parking, the car comes first."

Disputes over parking spot reservations have become a growing social issue. Last month, a similar incident occurred at Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, where a woman stood in a parking space to reserve it, leading to a confrontation with a driver.

In April last year, a video went viral on social media showing a woman lying down in an empty parking spot in Busan's Haeundae, claiming to reserve it.

As controversies over parking spot reservations intensify, legislative efforts to prohibit such actions have emerged.

In the 21st National Assembly, Rep. Song Ki-heon of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea proposed an amendment to the Parking Lot Act that would ban obstructing parking spaces by placing objects or standing in parking spaces, but the bill was scrapped when the session ended earlier this year.

In the current 22nd National Assembly, Rep. Han Min-goo of the DPK has reintroduced a similar amendment to the Parking Lot Act, which would prohibit unauthorized occupation of parking spaces and obstructing their use. This bill is currently under review by the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Committee.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.