From March 25th, the revised Road Traffic Act and Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes will go into effect.

The background of the revision lays in an accident of Kim Min-Sik, a 9-year-old child who died in a car accident at a school zone last September. Later, the incident drew public attention and collected 200,000 signatories in a petition named “I desperately beg you to urge the passage of the Children Safety Law.” As a result, the bill named after the victim Kim Min-Sik was proposed, and passed the legislature on December 10th.

The amended Road Traffic Act requires more speed cameras and traffic lights to be set up in the current school zones by 2022. This year, 1,500 speed cameras and 2,200 traffic lights will be installed primarily. Not only that, the speed limit for every school zone will be united to 30 kilometers per hour, and places where roads and walking spaces are not separated will have 20 kilometers per hour speed limit. In addition, as many as 4,300 illegal street parking lots in 281 places across the country will be phased out by 2022. Fines for illegal parking in a school zone will increase to 120,000 won from 80,000 won.

The revised Act of the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes has strengthened the existing level of punishment to force drivers to drive safely within school zones by themselves. Under the revised bill, the drivers are able to be sentenced up to life imprisonment or more than three years in prison if the driver kills a child within a school zone. Moreover, if the child is injured, at least one year to 15 years in prison can be sentenced or a fine of five million won up to 30 million won can be handed down to the driver.

Kim Si-Won (Traffic Planning Division, Korean National Police Agency) said, “The ultimate goal of the revised bill is to prevent accidents. Reinforced facilities and enforced punishment would make the drivers to be more cautious. For example, installation of cameras would lead the drivers to be more aware of their driving. We look forward to preventing any deaths in school zone by the revised bill.”

By Lee Chae-Young, Reporter

chaeyoung0702@pusan.ac.kr