Card News
NEWS
KOTI - Korea Transport institute-
# Did you know that newly released cars have slightly different number plate? The white background is similar but it has new blue color on the left side. When you take a closer look, you’ll see Korean flag, “KOR” letters, and holograms. In addition, the first number has three digits.
Let’s take a look at history of number plates and their recent changes.
# The car number plates have different purposes depending on each color.
Blue Number Plate : Eco-Friendly Cars Including Electric Car and Hydrogen Fueled Car
Yellow Number Plate : Commercial Vehicles Including Bus and Taxi
Deep Blue : Vehicles for Diplomats
Recently, we often see cars with blue number plates because eco-friendly cars are required to use blue number plates starting from 2017. The number plates feature symbolic image of electric cars and letters, “EV (Electric Vehicle)”, on them.
# The reason for such different color is to identify the electric cars quickly for benefits such as reducing the parking fees and toll fees. In addition, blue number plates enhance people’s awareness on eco-friendly cars and give the drivers pride of riding eco-friendly cars.
# In 2017, the number plates of electric cars were applied with retro-reflective film for the first time in Korea. When the retro-reflective film receives light, it reflects the light back. So, it helps drivers clearly see the number plate of the car ahead, prevents the collision accidents, and prevents forged number plates.
So, the new number plate’s color, structure, and features are different from the previous number plate.
# The first number plate started in 1893 when the Paris police recorded the registration number and car owners for cars speeding over 30km/h and had drivers to put them on the front left. Then, New York introduced the number plate system for the first time in 1901 and required all vehicles to put on the number plates. This system gradually spread around the world.
# Korea introduced the number plate in 1904 and the standard square-type number plate appeared in 1921.That’s how the present car number plate system started. The green number plate which is still available first appeared in 1973. The plate featuring area name and serial number was in use for about 30 years.
The white number plate was first introduced in 2005. It took after the European single-line plate and it enhanced visibility by making the plate longer horizontally and shorter vertically.
# In 2019, the numbers on the left side changed from two digits to three digits. In previous two-digit system, there were about 22 million possible combinations. Then, the number of vehicles exceeded the number of possible combinations. So, the new number plate was introduced for new 200 million possible combinations. The new three-digit number system can cope with social changes such as advent of new cars including eco-friendly cars and reunification of North and South Korea.
# The new number plate system is composed of three digit numbers, Korean alphabet, and four-digit numbers.
Korean Alphabet (Categorized for Each Purpose)- Delivery Vehicle : “BAE”, - Rental Vehicle : “Ha” “HEO” “HO”, - Commercial Vehicle : “SA” “JA” “AH” BA”
Three-Digit Numbers (Categorized For Each Model)- Passenger Car : “100~699”, - Emergency Vehicle : “998~999”
The Korean alphabets don’t have final consonants for higher camera recognition rate. Recently, retro-reflective film is gradually applied to all types of number plates.
# Since July 2020, drivers can either choose paint-type plate and new retro-reflective film-type plate for the new number plate. The new number plate adds a blue design on the left side. There are taegeuk mark on the top, anti-falsification hologram on the middle, and “KOR” meaning KOREA on the bottom.
# This year, there are ongoing controversies on new number plate’s quality and camera recognition. Since number plate is the most basic tool for managing cars across the country, it must secure reliability.
At this point of turning to eco-friendly cars, the number plate needs to be organized to cope with the upcoming changes in the traffic environment.
*This card news have been made after partial correction and supplementation of “Why Do Electric Cars Have Blue Number Plate” from Monthly KOTI Magazine on Transport Vol. October 2021