Can't release EPB (parking brake) when car shuts down at 0%SOC

Well, it happened. My wife thought that the 107 miles range on our 2018 Soul EV+ was enough to do her 124 mile round trip yesterday and the car turtled out just at the top of the hill on her way home. Only 1/2 mi to go, too. Since it was shut off while in park, the EPB engaged and nothing I could think of doing, short of climbing under the car, would release them. I had to get my portable generator, modified Panasonic EVSE from an early Nissan Leaf (the Kia supplied one always faults on my generator), special plug for the inverter generator so the EVSE wouldn't fault out, and charge the car enough so it would release the parking brake. On a 2000W inverter-generator this isn't a fast process.

This is where I want to ring the neck of the Kia Engineer who thought that the parking brake should never be released on command of the driver. If there is 12V available then the brake should be able to be controlled at ANY TIME by the driver! I agree with what someone in another thread said about wanting a mechanical parking brake. They are far superior to these EPBs, especially if they are hand operated and can be applied at any pressure. Imagine losing the hydraulic brake system and needing to stop with a hand brake or an EPB. Remember, as sliding wheel will always overtake a rolling wheel so a controlled stop using the EPB will take some skill.

Anyway, losing a couple of hours of time over my wife saving 5 minutes by not charging at work, I wonder if there is a way to force the release of the parking brakes so the car can be moved when the HV battery pack is dead?

There's nothing in the Service Manual about manual release, but it is worth reading the EPB section on how it works, as it explains the way it controls application as an emergency brake (it doesn't just bang on full pressure). Also, you can release the brake with the hand control provided the "engine is on" and the footbrake is pressed. So, if you have 12V and the system will go to ON in turtle mode (not sure if it does) you could get the EPB to release.