Year-End Holidays Approaching in the 'With Corona' Era... Police Launch 'Intensive Drunk Driving Crackdown'

Alcohol-related accidents down 19.2% from January to September
Increase in drinking gatherings expected... "Strengthening late-night crackdowns"

Photo of a sobriety checkpoint. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] As the 'With Corona' (gradual return to daily life) policy is implemented, gatherings and drinking parties are expected to increase, and the police are pushing for intensified drunk driving crackdowns.

The National Police Agency announced on the 31st that it will conduct a three-month intensive crackdown on drunk driving from next month until January next year. This drunk driving crackdown will be carried out comprehensively, focusing on high-risk areas such as entertainment districts and restaurant areas, with frequent changes in enforcement times and locations.

A police official explained, "This measure is being implemented in response to changes in quarantine guidelines regarding the number of people and usage times at multi-use facilities following the implementation of the gradual return to daily life," adding, "Since drinking hours are expected to increase, crackdowns during late-night hours will also be strengthened."

According to the police, drunk driving has noticeably decreased this year compared to previous years. This is analyzed to be influenced by changes in drinking culture due to social distancing, the enforcement of the 'Yoon Chang-ho Act' which strengthens penalties for drunk driving, and the police's continuous drunk driving crackdowns using contactless complex breathalyzers even during the COVID-19 situation. Up to September this year, there were 10,622 drunk driving traffic accidents, a 19.2% decrease compared to the same period last year. In particular, the number of deaths from drunk driving accidents was 128, a 43.9% reduction during the same period.

However, the police are concerned that the average daily number of drunk driving crackdowns in October increased by 16.8% to 361.8 cases compared to 309.9 cases from January to September. The police believe that special measures are necessary to suppress the spread of drunk driving ahead of With Corona and the year-end holidays.

Yang Woo-cheol, head of the Traffic Safety Division of the National Police Agency, said, "The police have continuously and strictly enforced drunk driving crackdowns regardless of quarantine guidelines due to COVID-19," and urged, "All drivers should recognize that drunk driving is a time bomb on the road and participate in safe driving for their own and others' safety."

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