Big increase in foreigner car accidents

Car accidents involving foreigners increased fourfold from 2012 to 2015. / Courtesy of Twitter

By Lee Han-soo

There has been a fourfold increase in the number of foreigners involved in car accidents in Korea over the past three years, according to a police report.

The number has increased from 333 in 2012 to 1,411 in 2015, the report said.

Foreigners driving without a license increased from 279 in 2012 to 487 in 2015.

Foreigner license suspensions also have increased. About 1,600 licenses were revoked in 2013 due to drunk driving, blood-alcohol test refusal or hit-runs. This rose to 2,235 last year and is expected to be higher this year, with more than 1,600 licenses revoked up to August.

The increase in accidents involving foreigners has been attributed to a simpler test for their Korean driver’s license. Changes in 2011 and 2012 allowed those who did not have a license easily to obtain a Korean license and required those with a foreign license only to have a simple physical test to get theirs.

“The statistics show that it is far too easy for foreigners to obtain a driver’s license in Korea,” said Rep. Kim Young-jin from the opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, who is also a member of the Security and Public Administration Committee. “Since we are reinforcing the driver’s license test for Koreans after five years of simplifying the process, this should also be the case for foreigners.”