Ko Kyungae, Gwangju Seo-gu Council Member, Calls for Support for Safe Driving by Elderly Drivers

Production and Distribution of Signs for Elderly Drivers

Gwangju Seo-gu Council member Ko Kyungae (Hwajeong 3·4-dong, Pungam-dong, Democratic Party of Korea) announced on the 26th that she proposed ‘Support Measures for Safe Driving by Elderly Drivers’ during a five-minute free speech at the 2nd plenary session of the 329th temporary meeting of the Gwangju Seo-gu Council.

Goh Kyungae, a member of the Seo-gu Council, is speaking at the plenary session during the 329th extraordinary meeting. Provided by Gwangju Seo-gu Council

Currently, while the elderly population is increasing by an average of 4.6% per year, the number of elderly driver’s license holders is rising by 10.2%, resulting in a continuous increase in the number of elderly drivers.

Additionally, as the severity of traffic accidents caused by elderly drivers has been found to be relatively high, social interest in preparing support measures for the safe driving of elderly drivers is growing.

Recently, a study by the Korea Transport Institute revealed that when one elderly driver voluntarily surrenders their license, social costs decrease by 420,000 KRW per year, confirming the necessity for voluntary license return policies.

However, there are also concerns that, rather than implementing only voluntary license return policies without considering the right to mobility and the realities of drivers who rely on driving for their livelihood, various alternative measures are needed.

During her speech, Ko proposed: ▲production and distribution of signs for elderly drivers ▲promotion of advanced safety device adoption and effective education ▲expansion of support for those who return their driver’s licenses ▲expansion of support eligibility up to age 65 through the revision of related ordinances.

Ko stated, “I will work to ensure that support for safe driving by elderly drivers and voluntary license return policies can be implemented harmoniously,” and added, “I ask for the interest of Seo-gu Office and citizens.”

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