If Caught Drunk Driving, Even Insurance Companies Can't Help... Increased Crackdown During Chuseok Holiday (Comprehensive)

Deductible Increase on the 22nd of Next Month
Legislation to Promote Insurers' Subrogation Rights Also Underway

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Measures to increase penalties for drunk driving are being promoted, mainly in the political sphere. This is due to the fact that the number of accidents, which had decreased after the enforcement of the "Drunk Driving Penalty Enhancement Act" (commonly known as the Yoon Chang-ho Act) last year, has turned to a sharp increase again this year, showing only a temporary effect.

With a bill proposed to make drivers bear all the damages from traffic accidents, the deductible for automobile insurance in drunk driving accidents will also increase starting next month. As crackdowns are expected to be strengthened ahead of the Chuseok holiday, when drunk driving accidents tend to rise, consumers are urged to be cautious.

According to the insurance industry on the 29th, from the 22nd of next month, the deductible for compulsory insurance in drunk driving traffic accidents will be raised. Recently, the Financial Supervisory Service announced revisions to the insurance supervision regulations, including amendments to the standard automobile insurance policy in line with the enforcement rules of the Automobile Damage Compensation Guarantee Act.

Until now, when a driver caused an accident while drunk driving, the driver only had to pay a maximum of 3 million KRW for Bodily Injury I (damage amount up to 150 million KRW based on death) and 1 million KRW for property damage as accident deductibles. The remaining damages were paid by the insurance company.

However, starting next month, the deductible for Bodily Injury I will increase to 10 million KRW, and for property damage to 5 million KRW. Additionally, for voluntary insurance such as Bodily Injury II (damage amount exceeding 150 million KRW based on death) and property damage (damage exceeding 20 million KRW), new accident deductibles of 100 million KRW and 50 million KRW respectively will be introduced.

For example, if one person dies in a drunk driving accident with damages amounting to 400 million KRW, the driver previously paid only 3 million KRW, but going forward, they will have to pay 103 million KRW. If vehicle damage amounts to 80 million KRW, the driver's burden will increase from the previous 1 million KRW to 51 million KRW.

Beyond raising deductibles, legislation is also being promoted to allow insurance companies to seek full reimbursement from drivers involved in drunk driving, unlicensed driving, or hit-and-run accidents for the insurance payments made to victims. Assemblyman Han Jun-ho of the Democratic Party recently proposed an amendment to the Automobile Damage Compensation Guarantee Act containing these provisions. If this amendment passes the National Assembly, insurance companies will have the right to claim compensation from drunk drivers.

This move to strengthen penalties for drunk driving comes as accidents, which had decreased due to the Yoon Chang-ho Act, are rising sharply again.

According to the Samsung Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute affiliated with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, from January to August this year, 4,627 drunk driving traffic accidents were reported to Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, surpassing the total of 3,787 drunk driving accidents last year. Also, among 130,654 license cancellations during the same period, 59,102 (45.2%) were due to drunk driving, about half of the total.

The proportion of license cancellations due to drunk driving among all cancellations dropped significantly from 54.6-58.1% during 2016-2018 to 36.6% last year, but rose again to 45% this year.

Tracking and analyzing 158,000 people who had their licenses canceled due to drunk driving and reacquired them in 2015 up to last month, 14.0% were caught driving under the influence again after reacquisition. Additionally, 11.4% had their licenses canceled again due to drunk driving.

In contrast, the rate of new license holders in 2015 caught for drunk driving during the same period was much lower at 4.8%. The rate of license cancellation due to drunk driving among new license holders was 1.1%, about one-tenth that of reacquired license holders. The ratio of traffic accidents per number of people was also more than twice as high for reacquired license holders at 5.7% compared to 2.2% for new license holders.

An insurance industry official said, "The 'Yoon Chang-ho Act' strengthening drunk driving penalties had an effect, but the impact was loosened due to limited crackdowns caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)." He added, "From next month, if an accident occurs while driving under the influence, the perpetrator must fully compensate the victim's damages, so special caution is required."

Meanwhile, the police will collaborate with related agencies such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the National Fire Agency, local governments, and Korea Expressway Corporation to conduct traffic accident prevention activities during the Chuseok holiday. They urged compliance with basic traffic laws such as seatbelt use and recommended taking breaks at rest areas or sleep shelters during long drives to ensure safe driving. Especially, since intensive crackdowns on drunk driving are underway, they emphasized the need for particular caution.