The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 2nd that it has designated June as the “Zero Water Bill Arrears Month” and will launch intensive collection activities for habitual and large-sum defaulters. Effective measures such as water supply suspension and property seizure will be used to clear arrears, and small-sum defaulters will also be encouraged to pay.
Defaulters who have failed to pay six times or more, owe 200,000 won or more, or owe 1.2 million won or more will face water supply suspension after being notified of their arrears. For arrears nearing the statute of limitations, strong measures such as property seizures will be taken. The city plans to encourage joint payers, who are owners, to pay to increase the collection rate.
To ensure systematic on-site responses, the city will operate a ten-member joint collection team. This team will conduct on-site visits to encourage payment, serve notices of suspension and seizures, and collect payment plans. The collected information and response cases will be used to improve the collection system in the future.
For vulnerable groups who are economically constrained, plans such as deferred installment payments and easing of suspension will be applied. If they express the intention to pay by first settling a certain amount, they will be allowed to pay in installments for up to six months.
Water bill payments can be made through various channels such as virtual accounts, Seoul ETAX, smartphone apps (STAX), ATMs, ARS, and convenience stores. In the first quarter of this year alone, the Seoul city managed to collect arrears amounting to 10 billion won, including a maximum single arrears of 19.4 million won.
Lee Hoi-seung, head of the Seoul Arisu Headquarters, stated, “Water bills are a financial resource for the supply of safe and clean tap water, and we will establish a sound payment culture through systematic collection throughout June.”