The government will introduce toughened regulations mandating car seats for young children, in an effort to reduce child deaths in traffic accidents.
Police plan to boost monitoring of the use of child car seats as well as raise the fine for violators from the current 30,000 won to at least 60,000 won, related ministries said Thursday.
The move comes as part of a comprehensive plan for promoting child safety, drawn up by nine government bodies including the Ministry of Public Safety and Security, the Ministry of Education and the National Police Agency.
Data shows 215 children died in 2014, and traffic accidents accounted for 37 percent of the deaths.
In Korea, only 40 percent of children under the age of six are put in child seats when riding in cars. This is comparable to 91 percent in the United States and 60 percent in Japan.
The government will also install surveillance cameras in order to prevent cars from parking and stopping on crosswalks and sidewalks near schools.
In addition, it will conduct safety checks of recreational areas for children and require operators to improve the facilities when deemed necessary. If improvements are not made within a designated period, the operators will be subject to fines or a shutdown.