The deadly car accident that left nine people dead in Seoul Monday night has rekindled debate over whether the government should revisit a conditional driver's license system for older driver, which it shelved in May amid public backlash over potential infringement of the human right to mobility for older people.
As of now, it is unclear how a car driven by a 68-year-old man came to plow into pedestrians near Seoul City Hall. The driver claimed the vehicle suddenly accelerated not due to his own error.
He is a current bus driver in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, who obtained his bus drivers' license in 1974. He never had any major accidents or issues with his driving skills, according to a company official, as reported in local media Tuesday.
But the accident is fueling distrust among some about older people's driving abilities, with some expressing support for the government's scrapped plan to adopt a conditional driver's license system for "high-risk drivers" aged 65 and up.
A car of the driver responsible for Monday's deadly accident, which left nine dead and four injured, is being towed by a police tow truck Tuesday in Seoul. (Yonhap)
Increasing number of traffic accidents by seniors
On May 20, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the National Police Agency rolled out joint measures to curb traffic accidents, among which were plans for the conditional license system for drivers 65 and over. The measure would have given different driving permits based on each driver's capabilities, limiting those deemed to have lower abilities from driving at night or on highways.
The measure initially included plans to limit the driving of older people as a group, but the government switched its position a day later to say the conditional driving permit system will be based on assessments of each driver, not based on their age.
There have been rising number of traffic accidents caused by those aged at least 65. About 13.2 percent of all drivers in South Korea were aged 65 or above last year, and the NPA expects the ratio to keep rising in the future due to rapidly aging population.
According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, such cases marked an all-time high of 39,614 in 2023, up by 4,962 compared to the year before and rising for the third-straight year. It accounted for 20 percent of all traffic accidents, up from 17.6 percent in the year before.
In November, an 82-year-old man in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, hit and killed three pedestrians with his car while running a red light. He told police officials that he did not see the traffic light.
In another incident in December, a driver in his 70s ran over a married couple, killing the wife and severely injuring the husband. The driver had claimed sudden acceleration of his car, but police investigation found that it was his personal error that caused the accident.
A 79-year-old driving a sports utility vehicle caused a nine-car collision in February that killed one and injured 13. The driver, who was not drunk at the time, told police officers that he "doesn't remember the accident."
Should the elderly be driving?
South Korea currently mandates drivers aged 75 and above to renew their license every three years -- opposed to 10 years for other drivers -- and have them receive a cognitive test and road safety education when renewing the license.
The government also encourages elderly drivers to forfeit their driving privileges in exchange for incentives, such as public transportation card worth 100,000 won ($72) in case of Seoul, but only around 2 percent do so annually. Seoul Metropolitan Councilman Jang Tae-yong, of the ruling People Power Party, suggested raising the incentives from 100,000-won card to 300,000 won, during a plenary session of the council on June 12.
This photo taken early Tuesday in Seoul shows a completely destroyed car that was driven by a driver responsible for Monday's deadly accident, in which nine people were killed and four more were injured. (Yonhap)
However, many oppose the idea of a driving ban based on old age. Yoon Min-yeong, a 40-year-old mother living in the Sejong City, said she is against issuing conditional driver's license just because of old age.
"Old people have slower responses, but they are more careful and drive slower. I don't think it's an issue that needs to be banned by law. It's the reckless drivers that cause most of the accidents, regardless of their age," Yoon said, adding that many in rural regions need to drive because of the lack of public transportation system.
"I agree with the conditional driving license, but not based on age. It should be based on each driver's tendency. Without a proper system, the reckless drivers tend to keep doing what they're doing," she said.
But another citizen said limiting the senior citizens' right to drive is necessary for the public safety.
"There are a lot of senior drivers in my apartment complex and they tend to not slow down at crosswalks, forcing several near-misses by resident," said a 27-year-old woman surnamed Bae living in southern Seoul. "And the traffic conditions and the law was somewhat different when they first started driving, which they seem not to be acutely aware of. It's not a matter of disregarding their rights, it's a matter of safety."
The conditional driver's license is still in its early stages of the planning. But the recent tragedy has left many across the country wondering how old is too old when it comes to getting behind the steering wheel of a car.
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