The 'Meager Benefit' Given When Elderly Drivers Surrender Their Licenses Is Essentially Useless

Return Rate Stagnates at 8% in Gwangju and 5% in Jeonnam... "Difficult to Expect Results with One-Time Benefits"

Busan City Signs Agreements for Discounts with Local Businesses and Returnees

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Although the ‘Senior Driver’s License Return’ system is being promoted to prevent traffic accidents involving elderly drivers, actual citizens are questioning the effectiveness of the system.

When returning a license, a benefit in the form of transportation fare is provided, but since it is not paid monthly or annually, it is criticized as a ‘pointless’ administrative measure.

According to Gwangju Metropolitan City and Jeonnam Province on the 4th, as society enters a super-aged phase, drivers aged 70 or older who voluntarily return their driver’s licenses to prevent traffic accidents will be supported with a 100,000 won transportation card or local currency.

However, even though this policy, which started in 2019, has entered its third year, questions still remain about its effectiveness.

In fact, in Gwangju, 3,696 people have returned their driver’s licenses so far. The number of license holders aged 70 or older is 44,047, making the return rate only 8.4%.

The situation in Jeonnam Province is similar. 3,932 people have returned their licenses, and there are 78,801 license holders aged 70 or older, with a return rate of just about 5%.

Citizens commonly cite the ‘meager benefits’ as a representative reason for the low return rate.

In fact, Mr. Park (68), who is approaching 70, firmly said he would ‘not return’ his license when asked if he would do so at age 70.

Mr. Park sarcastically criticized the current system, saying, “I am healthy enough to live socially without any problems, so it is not easy to give up convenient mobility by returning my license two years later, and the benefit is only a one-time 100,000 won. Also, it seems better to keep the license in case of emergencies.”

He emphasized that to encourage elderly drivers to return their licenses, more practical compensation is needed rather than a one-time benefit of 100,000 won.

Meanwhile, the voluntary return of driver’s licenses was first introduced nationwide by Busan Metropolitan City in 2018, benchmarking Japan’s system.

Busan City not only provides a 100,000 won transportation card to those who voluntarily return their licenses but also offers discount benefits through agreements with local medical institutions, restaurants, dining businesses, bathhouses, photo studios, opticians, and beauty salons frequently used by seniors.

Currently, there are a total of 2,413 local businesses partnered with Busan City. These businesses receive various promotional benefits.

Regarding this, a Jeonnam Province official said, “The return of driver’s licenses by elderly drivers is a ‘recommendation’ policy, not ‘mandatory,’ so it is difficult to predict the number of returns and set the budget accordingly,” and added, “We will propose measures to revitalize the system.”

Meanwhile, according to the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency’s announcement last year, the number of elderly driver’s license holders in Gwangju over the past 10 years has increased about threefold (aged 65 or older: from 30,675 to 83,678; aged 70 or older: from 12,589 to 42,764), and the number of traffic accidents caused by elderly people aged 65 or older has also increased 2.9 times (from 346 to 992).