780 Transportation Workers Convicted of Serious Crimes Still Behind the Wheel

Serious Crimes Including Sexual Assault and Murder... Local Governments' Delayed Response
Junho Jung: "License Revocation Must Be Enforced Without Delay"

Junho Jung, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

It has been revealed that, over the past five years and eight months, a total of 780 transportation workers became subject to disqualification from their transportation licenses due to committing serious crimes such as sexual assault, drug offenses, murder, and robbery. However, due to the delayed response of local governments, many of these individuals are still behind the wheel, raising serious concerns about passenger safety. The severity of the issue is further underscored by the recent sharp increase in the number of delayed notifications of license revocation over the past three years.

According to data submitted to Assemblyman Junho Jung (Gwangju Buk-gu Gap) of the Democratic Party of Korea by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority on October 8, there were a total of 780 cases in which transportation workers were notified of disqualification due to serious crimes from 2020 to August 2025. In addition, there were as many as 1,404 cases of repeated notifications due to delays in actual license revocation after the initial notification.

Under current law, the Korea Transportation Safety Authority is required to notify local governments to revoke the licenses of transportation workers who have been sentenced to imprisonment or greater for violations of the Narcotics Control Act, the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, or the Act on the Punishment of Specific Violent Crimes, and for whom two years have not passed since the completion of their sentence. However, despite these regulations, delays in follow-up actions by local governments continue to occur repeatedly.

By type of crime, sexual offenses accounted for the largest proportion at 44% (345 cases), followed by violations of the Narcotics Control Act such as drug use at 19.6% (153 cases), and violations of the Act on the Punishment of Specific Violent Crimes such as murder, abduction, special robbery, and special rape at 15% (119 cases). Violations of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles also reached 9.7% (76 cases), highlighting the potential risks involved.

The problem is that the number of delayed notifications has continued to rise even after the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport began directly re-notifying local governments in 2023. The number increased from 153 cases in 2022 to 406 cases in 2023, and 339 cases in 2024. Over the past six years, the regions with the highest number of delayed notifications were Gyeonggi Province (349 cases), Seoul (297 cases), and Incheon (102 cases).

Assemblyman Jung emphasized, "In the transportation industry, passengers and drivers are in close contact in confined spaces with frequent interactions. Destinations and operating hours are diverse, and many services run late at night, which increases the likelihood of passengers being exposed to danger. The disqualification of transportation workers who have committed serious crimes must be enforced without delay."