Harsher punishment sought for illegal driving of e-scooters, in light of related accidents

Lawmakers are seeking to impose stricter penalties for illegal operation of electric-powered scooters, on the coattails of safety concerns sparked by a series of accidents, including one involving K-pop superstar Suga.

The controversy surrounding what are legally defined as electric-powered bicycles and electric kick scooters erupted earlier this month, when the BTS member was caught driving an e-scooter while under the influence of alcohol. The incident fueled ongoing concerns over the safety of the small electric vehicles, which were earlier stoked when two high school students on an electric kick scooter fatally injured a woman in her 60s in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

Rep. Lee Choon-suak of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea proposed a revision of the Road Traffic Act to impose a fine of up to 1 million won ($750) for driving a motorized bicycle without a proper license. The current punishment for motorized bicycles is a fine of up to 300,000 won.

"The punishment for unlicensed driving of motorized bikes is too low when you consider the punishment for driving a car without a license is up to one year in prison or a 3 million won fine. ... When you consider that a similar level of risk accompanies an accident (for both types of vehicles), a harsher punishment is necessary to raise awareness of the risks," Lee said.

Motorized vehicles refer to what are commonly called mopeds in English-speaking countries, which are motorcycles with smaller engines -- engine displacement of up to 125 cubic centimeters -- or electric bikes of up to 11 kilowatts. Suga was riding such a vehicle in his recent incident. Punishment for drunk driving with such a vehicle is the same as for a car.

But slower electric bikes -- with a maximum speed of less than 25 kilometers per hour -- and electric kick scooters such as the one in the Goyang case are defined as personal mobility devices. Drunk driving or unlicensed driving for these smaller vehicles is subject to a lower level of punishment compared to the same offense on a car or motorized bike, although injury or death via such vehicles is subject to criminal punishment.

Other lawmakers are seeking stricter regulations on personal mobility devices, particularly since an increasing number of accidents and even deaths have been reported in recent years. According to the National Police Agency, personal mobility drivers caused 7,854 accidents from 2019 to 2023, leading to 87 deaths and 8,665 injuries.

There were 250 drunk driving accidents involving personal mobility devices in 2022 and 2023, leaving four dead and 550 injured.

Rep Lim Ho-seon of the Democratic Party proposed a bill that would impose the same level of punishment for drunk driving personal mobility devices as for a car -- which is up to five years in prison or 20 million won fine. His proposal also includes reducing the maximum speed to under 20 kilometers per hour.

Another Democratic Party lawmaker, Yi Byeong-jin, proposed a bill that would mandate users renting a personal mobility device have a verified license, and to impose a 5 million won administrative fine to those who fail to do so.

Many unlicensed drivers of electric kick scooters involve underage users, several of whom are unaware that operating the vehicle requires a valid driver's license for a car or motorcycle.