The number of accidents caused by teenagers while using personal mobile devices such as electric kickboards has soared about 46 times over the past five years. Critics point out that the license certification process of private mobile device sharing companies is lax at a time when the majority of teenagers are "unlicensed."
According to the "Current Status of Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries by Age Group of Personal Mobile Devices" data submitted by the National Police Agency on the 21st, a total of 816 personal mobile device accidents for teenagers under the age of 19 over the past five years from 2017.
By year, 12 cases occurred in 2017, 21 cases in 2018, 48 cases in 2019, 186 cases in 2020, and 549 cases in 2021, up about 46 times over the past five years.
In addition, the number of cases in which teenagers were caught driving personal mobile devices such as electric kickboards without a license more than doubled to 3,482 in 2021 and 7,486 in the first eight months of this year.
According to data from the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the National Statistical Office, a total of 1.41,826 teenagers aged 16 to 18 who can hold licenses, of which only 5.07% (71,196) are licensed. Ninety-five percent of teenagers are unlicensed.
Writer: Danielle Lee
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