15% of Disciplinary Cases Over Two and a Half Years
In the past two years, the second most common reason for disciplinary action against train drivers affiliated with the Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) has been the use of mobile phones.
According to the disciplinary decisions for train drivers submitted by KORAIL to Yoon Jae-ok, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the People Power Party, from 2022 to July of this year, out of 80 disciplinary cases against operating staff, 36 cases (45%) were due to "negligence in duty." Mobile phone use accounted for 12 cases (15%), making it the second most frequent cause.
KORAIL prohibits train drivers from using mobile phones in the driver's cabin through internal regulations.
However, Representative Yoon pointed out that even if an accident occurs due to a driver's negligence, there is no way to determine whether it was caused by mobile phone use during operation.
According to KORAIL, out of a total of 1,411 driver's cabins, video recording devices have been installed in 306 cabins, but none of these devices are currently operational in any vehicles.
Although the installation of video recording devices inside driver's cabins was mandated by the 2016 amendment to the Railroad Safety Act, the enforcement decree includes an exception for vehicles equipped with operation information recording devices.
Representative Yoon emphasized, "Since a single train accident can lead to a major disaster, the driver's concentration on duty is extremely important," and added, "KORAIL must improve labor supervision and safety management systems to prevent behaviors that pose risks to train operation, such as smartphone use inside the driver's cabin."
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