National Assembly Legislative Research Office Advocates 'Active Consideration'
Government and Lawmakers' Consent, Legislation Expected Soon
There is growing attention in the National Assembly on the opinion that measures to display warning messages about the dangers of drunk driving on alcoholic beverage containers should be actively considered.
The Legislative Research Office, a specialized research and analysis institution for legislation and policy in the National Assembly, recently suggested in its report "2023 National Audit Issue Analysis" that "there is a need to actively consider measures to display warning messages on alcoholic beverage containers."
The Legislative Research Office emphasized in the report that "the damage caused by drunk driving remains serious in South Korea" and "various measures to raise awareness of the dangers of drunk driving must be devised." It cited statistics showing that last year there were 15,059 drunk driving accidents and 214 deaths.
Examples of warning messages include "Drunk driving is equivalent to murder" and "Drunk driving threatens the lives of yourself and others."
The National Health Promotion Act stipulates that alcoholic beverage containers must display warning messages such as "Excessive drinking is harmful to health" and "Drinking during pregnancy can harm the fetus's health." However, there are currently no regulations requiring warning messages about the dangers of drunk driving.
Attempts to display drunk driving warning messages on alcoholic beverage containers have been made in the past. However, these efforts were repeatedly thwarted due to a socially permissive drinking culture. In 2018, a partial amendment bill to the National Health Promotion Act containing such provisions was proposed in the National Assembly but was not properly discussed and was discarded upon the expiration of the legislative term.
In the current National Assembly, independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk also introduced a bill to amend the National Health Promotion Act in April to display drunk driving warning messages and images, which is currently under committee review.
In this regard, a Ministry of Health and Welfare official agreed with the display of warning messages but stated, "It is necessary to review whether it is appropriate for the related content to be included in the National Health Promotion Act, which aims to promote health." The official also suggested, "If additional content is added to the limited labeling space on alcoholic beverage containers, revision is needed to allow the choice between images or text for efficient information layout considering readability."
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs also expressed agreement on the necessity of attaching warnings. However, it stated, "In the case of images, careful consideration is needed as they could significantly affect the marketability and public image of traditional alcoholic beverages."
Meanwhile, in the case of cigarettes, which display warning messages and images, it is known that the effect on smoking cessation is considerable. According to the "2017 National Health and Nutrition Survey," the smoking rate among those aged 19 and older in 2017 was 22.3%, down 1.6 percentage points from the previous year. This is analyzed to be influenced by non-price policies such as the warning images on smoking, which were effectively implemented from 2016, and the expansion of no-smoking zones.
According to the Legislative Research Office, overseas countries such as the United States and South Africa display warning messages about drunk driving, drinking during pregnancy, and health risks on alcoholic beverage containers. Mexico and T?rkiye display warning images about the dangers of drunk driving and drinking during pregnancy.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
