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| Pedestrians cross the street in a child protection zone near an elementary school, an area with a speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour, in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap |
By Lee Hae-rin
The speed limit policy to limit driving on city streets to between 30 kilometers and 50 kilometers per hour is at risk of being overturned within a year after its enactment, as the presidential transition committee announced its plan to increase "flexibility" in speed regulations.
The presidential transition committee said in a press release, Tuesday that it will consider relaxing speed limit policies across the country and flexibly operate speed regulations in child protection zones.
The committee said it plans to raise the speed limit in areas with lower safety concerns for pedestrians from 50 kilometers to 60 kilometers per hour while setting the speed limit in child protection zones from 30 kilometers to 40 kilometers per hour at night.
The speed limit policy took effect last April, following growing calls to protect pedestrians and cyclists from fatal traffic accidents. Motorists speeding have been subject to fines of up to 130,000 won ($106) and those surpassing 80 kilometers per hour could receive criminal penalties.
Korea's pedestrian mortality rate has remained relatively high among OECD countries. As of 2015, the country saw 3.5 deaths per 100,000 population, higher than the OECD's average of 1.1.
According to a police report from last August, the number of pedestrian deaths caused by vehicle accidents has decreased by 16.7 percent to 139, from the previous year's 167, during the first 100 days since the enactment of the speed limit policy last April.
The Korea Transportation Safety Authority reported in 2018 that an adult male pedestrian hit by a car driving at 60 kilometers per hour is susceptible to an 80 percent chance of death and 92.6 percent chance of serious injury, while the chances of serious injury decreased to 72.7 percent at 50 kilometers per hour and dropped even more to 15.4 percent at 30 kilometers per hour.
The traffic authority said children and senior citizens are at especially high risk of death or serious injury when hit by a car driving at the same speeds.
