Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
DUI warnings to be displayed on alcohol drink labels
gettyimagesbank
By Jung Min-ho
Warning messages about the risk of driving under the influence of alcohol will be displayed on the packaging of alcoholic drinks, according to health officials on Friday.
After the approval of the bill by the National Assembly the previous day, the revised National Health Promotion Act will require sellers to include warning messages about drunk driving, possibly with graphics depicting its dangers, on the labels of their alcohol products.
The revised part of the law will come into force one year after its proclamation.
Currently, alcohol labels display only health warnings as well as a specific message about the dangers it poses, particularly against maternal and fetal health.
Lawmakers who proposed the bill said they came up with the idea to raise awareness of the risk of drunk driving and reduce the social cost of its consequences.
According to data released last year by the state-funded Korea Road Traffic Authority, 1,167 people were killed and 122,566 others injured due to drunk driving incidents that occurred between 2019 and 2023.