Accidents Double on Eve of Holiday — A 'Dangerous Day' Repeated Every Year
According to data obtained from the National Police Agency by Rep. Kwon Young-jin of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, a total of 11,510 traffic accidents occurred during the Chuseok holidays from 2021 to 2025. Those accidents left 181 people dead and 18,903 injured.
On a daily basis, Chuseok proved more dangerous than the Lunar New Year. Over the past five years, Chuseok holidays averaged 426 traffic accidents a day, 28.8% more than the 331 during Lunar New Year holidays. Average daily deaths also stood at 6.7 during Chuseok, 54.2% higher than the 4.3 during Lunar New Year.
Accidents were most concentrated on the day immediately before the holiday began. Over the past five years, traffic accidents on the eve of the Chuseok holiday exceeded each year's daily holiday average by 54.7% to 113.6%.
The same pattern appeared last year. An average of 428 accidents occurred each day during the Chuseok holiday, but the figure jumped to 662 on the day before the holiday — 54.7% higher than a typical holiday day.
"The concentration of accidents on the day before the holiday begins repeats itself every year," Kwon said. "With long-distance driving and traffic congestion overlapping, drivers need to take particular care."
6,000 Drunk-Driving Cases in Three Years; One in Four a Repeat Offender
Cases of drivers taking the wheel after holiday drinking have also continued unabated. According to data Kwon obtained from the National Police Agency, 1,004 drunk-driving accidents occurred during Chuseok holidays over the past five years, killing 10 people and injuring 1,818. After falling to 144 cases in 2024, the figure rose again to 239 last year.
The scale is larger when simple citations are included. According to data obtained from the National Police Agency by Rep. Chae Hyun-il of the Democratic Party of Korea, also a member of the Public Administration and Security Committee, 5,996 cases resulted in license suspensions or revocations for drunk driving during the Chuseok holidays from 2023 to 2025.
There were 2,396 cases in 2023, 1,549 in 2024 and 2,051 last year. Notably, 1,652 cases, or 27.6% of the total, were repeat offenses, and 59 involved drivers caught five or more times. Over the same period, 589 drunk-driving incidents led to actual traffic accidents, killing eight people.
Nor does the holiday bring lighter punishment for drunk driving. Courts determine sentences by comprehensively weighing blood alcohol concentration, repeat offenses, driving distance and risk, whether an accident occurred and the extent of damage. Current sentencing guidelines do not list "holiday" or "drinking with family" as separate grounds for leniency.
When repeat offenses combine with dangerous driving, prison terms can follow. In June, the Changwon District Court sentenced a man in his 60s with 14 prior drunk-driving punishments to two years and six months in prison. The man drove about 58 kilometers with a blood alcohol level of 0.155%, then drank again on the day he was caught and drove about 8 more kilometers. The court also took into account that he drove the wrong way on a highway.
On the 22nd, the Supreme Court's Sentencing Commission also established sentencing guidelines for so-called "drink-loading" offenses, in which drivers consume alcohol to obstruct breath tests. The basic range is eight months to two years in prison or a fine of 7 million to 15 million won, with an aggravated range of one year and six months to four years.
"You must never take the wheel after drinking," Kwon said. Chae also stressed compliance with traffic safety rules, noting that "drunk-driving citations during the Chuseok holiday average some 2,000 cases every year."
