Police Chief: "Drunk Driving Offenders Will Receive Maximum Sentences" Special Crackdown on School Zones and Drunk Driving

Expanded Enforcement in School Zones Around Hiking, Tourist Areas, and Residential Districts

The National Police Agency announced on the 14th that it will conduct special crackdowns on drunk driving and violations of traffic regulations in school zones (Seukuljon) from the previous day until the 31st of next month. This measure is to prevent accidents similar to the fatal school zone accident that occurred in Daejeon on the 8th.

On the same day, Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, visited the school zone of Goeun Elementary School in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, and said, "I am very saddened by the recent incident in Daejeon where a child passing through a school zone was hit and killed by a drunk driver," emphasizing, "We will strictly crack down on violations of traffic laws in school zones, including drunk driving, illegal parking, and failure to protect pedestrians." He also stated, "We will work with the prosecution to ensure that drunk driving offenders receive the maximum penalties prescribed by law."

According to this year's drunk driving traffic accident statistics, the total number of accidents was 3,277, a decrease from 3,522 the previous year, but daytime traffic accidents increased significantly from 581 to 953 during the same period.

The police plan to expand their crackdown method from targeting areas around restaurants at night to random crackdowns during both day and night.

The National Police Agency will conduct nationwide simultaneous crackdowns once a week, and each city and provincial police agency will conduct regional simultaneous crackdowns at least twice a week. They plan to crack down on areas around hiking and tourist spots where drinking is common on weekends and during the day, as well as school zones in residential areas.

The police, local governments, schools, and parents will form a joint inspection team to review and improve the installation and management status of various safety facilities within school zones from the ground up. They will also conduct focused crackdowns on major accident-causing behaviors such as running red lights.