License plate (South Korea)

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Current license plate

South Korean license plates are issued by the Land Transportation Bureau of the Ministry of Construction and Transportation.

Appearance

Before 1973

Only a few copies of license plates from before 1973 exist. These are now invalid. These early hallmarks are mostly blue on a white background. The same color scheme is still used today for motorcycles.

1973-2003

Registration until 2003
License plate for construction vehicles

License plates from this period look almost identical to those on Japanese license plates (see license plates (Japan) for images). Their size corresponds roughly to that of the US or Japanese license plates. H. 335 mm × 170 mm for cars and 440 mm × 220 mm for buses and trucks. The identification number is two lines, with the top line representing the issuing Korean province or city and the vehicle class. The province or city name is fully embossed (without the suffixes -do ( 도 ) or -si ( 시 ))

List of provinces and cities on license plates (in South Korean jamo sorting):

List of possible vehicle classes:

  • 10–69: cars
  • 70–79: minibuses
  • 80–89: "Freight vehicles" (trucks)
  • 90–99: "Special vehicles"

The bottom line (occupies approx. 2/3 of the license plate height) contains the unique distinguishing number. This begins with a Hangeul syllable on the left, followed by an identification number. The identification number always consists of four digits from 0–9, numbers less than 1000 are zeroed out at the front.

After the number plate has been attached to the vehicle, a fastening screw is sealed to prevent tampering or theft.

Colours

  • Privately registered or government vehicles - white text on green or black text on white (individual cities)
  • Taxis, rental cars - blue letters on yellow
  • Construction vehicles - white lettering on orange / red
  • Diplomatic vehicles - white lettering on blue

2004-2006

These marks look similar to the 1973-2003 edition, but the province or city name is no longer written out in full. The Hangeul prefix has moved to the top line. The identification number has been enlarged and now fills the entire lower number plate. 4 digits are still used, but 6 digits are used for special codes.

Since 2006

In 2006 a new license plate system was introduced, initially with official vehicles and now also private vehicles. The color scheme was changed to black letters on a white background. The dimensions have also been changed to 155 mm high and 520 mm wide, which is standard in Europe. The numbering has been retained and follows the edition that began in 2004, but is now in just one line. The following information is shown on the license plate from left to right: vehicle class, Hangeul prefix and the four-digit identification number.

Military vehicles

Military license plate

Web links

Commons : South Korean License Plate  - collection of pictures, videos, and audio files