locked rear wheels

You brake and the brakes don't release ? Check the handbrake cable and also see if you can pull off a drumbrake. You need to go to a library or borrow a book on cars , rear brakes are all very similar . The link at the top is of a very old basic design, I'm suspecting the two half moon pieces that expand outward then return together by the big springs you see are still apart .

I'm assuming the hand brake cable is OK because it takes pressure to apply it. I tried checking the drum brakes but I can't remove the phillips scews in the drums. Any suggestions?

This is getting scary ...where did you find philips screws to begin with? You are obviousllly over your head with this , the cable on the handbrake will stretch even if the brakes are already locked in place. Try another newsgroup that is frequented a bit more , a general automobile newsgroup. The problem you have is not Kia specific so any car newsgroup will do , don't do anything else till you really know what you are doing !

Someone is over their head here and it's not the OP, there are philips screws holding the drums on. Best way to get them off is to get an impact driver:

Had this same problem on my van, try tapping on the drums with a rubber mallet. With mine I had to back up a few feet, and it let go finally. You could break something doing that, so try at your own risk. I ended up adjusting the equalizers for the ebrake to get the pedal travel inside the car back within spec. To find the spec for your car, try Should have some good diagrams there too.

The screws are #3 Phillips and you must use a #3 to remove them or you will destroy them. I can usually break them loose by putting a crescent wrench around the handle of the screwdriver to gain enough leverage to break them loose. If that fails you may have to use an impact driver to loosen them.

Did you store the car with the emergency brake on for an extended period of time? Doing so will rust the rear shoes to the drum....

Chris

Kia uses 2 #3 Phillips screws to retain the drums on most cars.

Chris