Ulju-gun Offers 500,000 KRW in Gift Certificates and Transportation Cards
Voluntary License Surrenders in March Surpass Last Year’s Total
Ulsan Ulju-gun has seen a sharp increase in the number of voluntarily surrendered driver’s licenses by elderly drivers after significantly expanding the benefits provided for license surrender.
According to Ulju-gun on the 16th, in March alone, 410 drivers aged 65 and older voluntarily surrendered their driver’s licenses, surpassing last year’s total of 358 surrenders.
The biggest reason behind this increase is the unprecedented benefits recently introduced by Ulju-gun. Starting this year, Ulju-gun expanded the incentives for elderly drivers who voluntarily surrender their licenses from 100,000 KRW to 500,000 KRW. Drivers aged 65 and older who voluntarily surrender their licenses receive Onnuri gift certificates worth 400,000 KRW and transportation cards worth 100,000 KRW provided by Ulsan City.
According to last year’s statistics on elderly driver license surrender rates in Ulsan’s five districts and counties, the average surrender rate in Ulsan City was 2.16%, while Ulju-gun recorded the lowest rate at 1.49%. Ulju-gun analyzed that the low surrender rate was due to its large area and poor public transportation accessibility, and thus prepared support at the highest national level.
As a result, the number of voluntary surrenders in March, the first month of the program, exceeded the total number from last year. Currently, 91.1% of the 450 Onnuri gift certificates and transportation cards prepared by Ulju-gun have been used, and especially in six eup and myeon areas including Beomseo-eup, Eonyang-eup, and Onyang-eup, the prepared incentives were exhausted early.
Looking at the age distribution of those who surrendered their licenses, elderly drivers aged 70 and above accounted for the largest share at 78%. Ulju-gun expects this program to contribute to preventing traffic accidents and ensuring pedestrian safety amid the recent frequent traffic accidents involving elderly drivers.
In response to the positive reaction in the early stages of the program, Ulju-gun has begun securing additional Onnuri gift certificates through a first supplementary budget to prepare additional support measures. The second round of incentive payments is planned for July, and Ulju-gun has also requested Ulsan City to secure additional transportation cards to allocate as many as possible.
Furthermore, Ulju-gun plans to strengthen transportation support policies to ensure safe and convenient mobility for the elderly, alongside encouraging voluntary surrender of driver’s licenses.
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