Police Chief: "Strengthening Penalties for Failure to Yield to Emergency Vehicles... Full Effort to Secure 'Golden Time'"

Commissioner Kim Chang-ryong's Blue House National Petition Response
Promotion of 'Emergency Vehicle Priority Signal System' Expansion
Taxi Driver Who Blocked Ambulance Indicted and Detained Last Month

Commissioner Kim Chang-ryong of the National Police Agency responding to a public petition.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Regarding the case in which a taxi driver blocked an ambulance transporting an emergency patient to the hospital and was subsequently arrested and prosecuted, Police Chief Kim Chang-ryong emphasized that he will work on institutional improvements to secure the "golden time."

On the 2nd, through a response to a Blue House public petition, Chief Kim stated, "We will effectively revise the penalty regulations for failure to yield to emergency vehicles." Earlier in July, a petition titled "Please punish the taxi driver who blocked the ambulance with an emergency patient" received 735,972 signatures, surpassing the response threshold of 200,000.

Chief Kim first promised to increase fines and conduct thorough investigations for intentional obstruction of emergency vehicles. He said, "Under the Road Traffic Act, general drivers are obligated to yield to emergency vehicles, but even if they fail to do so, the fine is only 60,000 KRW for passenger cars, which is insufficient as an effective sanction." He added, "To raise driver awareness and secure the golden time, we will significantly increase fines and strengthen public education and promotion to spread a culture of yielding and consideration."

Additionally, the expansion of the "Emergency Vehicle Priority Signal System" will be pursued. This system grants priority signals to emergency vehicles approaching intersections so they can pass without stopping, facilitating rapid dispatch and hospital transport. However, due to the need for on-site infrastructure, it is currently operated in only 15 cities nationwide, including Incheon, Sejong, and Cheongju in Chungbuk. Chief Kim specifically explained, "We are piloting a system that automatically grants priority signals by linking fire centers and signal centers without separate infrastructure construction," and added, "Once the pilot is completed, we will supplement any shortcomings and continuously expand the emergency vehicle priority signal system."

Previously, taxi driver Choi Mo (31) blocked an ambulance for about 10 minutes on June 8 near Godeok Station on Seoul Subway Line 5 in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, after a minor collision with the ambulance, demanding "Handle the accident first." The ambulance was carrying a 79-year-old stage 4 lung cancer patient who was experiencing breathing difficulties. The patient was transferred to another ambulance and taken to the hospital but ultimately passed away around 9 p.m. that day. Choi was arrested on charges including special assault, obstruction of business, attempted extortion, special property damage, violation of the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud, and fraud, and was indicted on the 14th of last month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.