The government said on the 12th that it will significantly strengthen highway traffic safety management using artificial intelligence (AI) ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. The aim is to shift the management system from after-the-fact crackdowns on recurring holiday traffic accidents to a method that predicts and responds to accident risks.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC) designated 40 sections requiring caution for traffic accidents during this Lunar New Year holiday. The number of caution sections has gradually increased. There were 22 during last summer vacation season, 30 during Chuseok last year, and 40 for this Lunar New Year. AI calculated risk levels based on data collected from the Traffic Safety Information Management System and the Driving Record Analysis System. It used a decision support system that produces a traffic accident risk index and rating. The message "accident caution" will be displayed on road signboards in the designated sections.
In the Seoul metropolitan area, sections include near the Sinwol IC on the Gyeongin Line, around the Guri Tollgate on the Seoul Metropolitan Area 1st Circular Line, and the Gangil IC on the Seoul–Yangyang Line. General national highway sections such as the intersection in front of Gyeongdong Market in Dongdaemun District and the intersection in front of Daechi Woosung Apartment in Gangnam District were also included in the management targets.
◇ Expansion of AI detection for seat belts on all seats
The most notable change in this plan is the expansion of the detection system for wearing seat belts on all seats. Infrared cameras and AI Deep Learning technology automatically determine whether front and rear seat passengers in moving vehicles are wearing seat belts. According to the Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC), detection accuracy is 98.9% for the front seats and 95.1% for the rear seats.
After a pilot operation on one lane at the Seoul Tollgate on the Gyeongbu Expressway during last year's Chuseok, the corporation will expand operations this Lunar New Year to the Seodaegu Tollgate on the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway Branch and the Bukdaegu Tollgate on the Gyeongbu Expressway.
Wearing a seat belt is a legal obligation. Under the Road Traffic Act, motorists must wear seat belts while driving and ensure that passengers do so as well. Violations incur fines of 30,000 won, and if a child under 13 fails to wear a seat belt or use a child restraint system, the fine is 60,000 won. However, the AI detection system operating during this Lunar New Year holiday will not be directly linked to imposing fines. It will operate as a prevention-focused system that provides guidance messages via tollgate signboards.
Not wearing a seat belt is directly linked to the risk of death. According to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (TS), 24.5% of those who died in highway traffic accidents over the past five years (2020–2024) were not wearing seat belts. The annual average is about 40 people.
Although wearing seat belts on all seats was mandated by a 2018 revision to the Road Traffic Act, the wearing rate remains low. As of 2024, Korea's rear-seat seat belt wearing rate is 69.65%, lower than Australia (96%), Germany and Canada (95%), and the United States (82%).
Highway enforcement methods will also change. The corporation plans to use equipment mounted on patrol vehicles with AI auto-detection to identify, in real time, improper loading, lane designation violations, and shoulder driving, and to connect these cases to public reporting procedures.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport projected that total nationwide travel during this Lunar New Year holiday will reach 27.8 million people. Homebound traffic is expected to peak on the morning of the 15th, and return traffic on the afternoon of the 17th. Average daily highway traffic volume is expected to be 5.25 million vehicles, up 14.1% from last year. On the day of Seol, the 17th, traffic volume is projected to increase to 6.15 million vehicles.