Electric scooter issue sparked by BTS' SUGA's remarks... Drunk driving accidents rampant = Korean reports

"The difference is that electric kickboards don't have saddles, while electric scooters have saddles. A debate is brewing about electric scooters. "BTS"
This is because member SUGA (31, real name Min Yoongi) was arrested for driving an electric scooter while drunk.
The fact that whether or not you are punished has been highlighted, but it has been confirmed that there are a considerable number of people who are unaware of this difference.
There have been many cases of people being injured in accidents, and it has become clear that there is a widespread lack of awareness of safety. For this reason, when purchasing vehicles with a high risk of accidents, such as electric scooters, it is important to be aware of their characteristics.
It has been called for to grasp the meaning of the term moped in a nutshell. Mopeds literally mean "bicycles with a motor attached." Both electric scooters and electric kick scooters are included in this concept.
Under the Road Traffic Act, if you are caught driving a motorbike while drunk, you will be punished in the same way as if you were driving a regular car or motorcycle. However, personal transportation devices are not subject to the drunk driving punishment.
There are no criminal penalties, only fines. This only applies to vehicles with a maximum speed of less than 25 km/h and a total weight of less than 30 kg.
But the problem is that ordinary citizens often buy personal mobility devices without even realizing that they are buying them.
In fact, many of the citizens I spoke to at the scene were completely unaware of this, even though they were using personal mobility devices. Ms. Lee (24) said, "Electric scooters are privately owned, so I just sit on them and ride them.
"I thought that people stood up when riding shared scooters on the street," said Heo (23), who added, "Isn't it just a difference between sitting and standing up? I don't know if there is a legal distinction and whether there are any penalties.
"I didn't even know that there was a difference between the two," he said. This lack of awareness is leading to an increase in drunk driving accidents. According to the National Police Agency and the Korea Road Transport Authority, last year, 100 people were killed in motorized bicycles, including electric scooters.
The total number of traffic accidents caused by drunk driving in the 2020-2021 season (excluding PM) was 144. Of these, 3 people were killed and 167 were injured. The number of accidents has been increasing every year since 2021, when there were 110 accidents.
This figure is in stark contrast to the downward trend in the number of traffic accidents caused by drunk driving in cars and motorcycles during the same period (from 14,894 to 13,042).
There have also been cases where electric scooter drivers who caused accidents while drunk were given prison sentences.
Defendant A was arrested in Seoul for driving an electric scooter without a license and while drunk and was sentenced to two years in prison. In the same month, he was also arrested in Daegu for driving an electric scooter and refusing to take a breathalyzer test by the police.
Defendant B was sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of 300,000 won (approximately 32,200 yen). Defendant B argued that the vehicle he was riding did not qualify as a "motorcycle," but the court ruled that this was not the case.
This is a similar case to when SUGA's side initially described the vehicle he was riding as an "electric kick scooter." The vehicle SUGA was riding also did not qualify as a PM, and no criminal charges were filed.
The man will be summoned for a police investigation soon and face a sentence of between two and six years in prison or a fine of between 10 million won (approximately 1,075,000 yen) and 30 million won (approximately 3.24 million yen).
is expected to be sentenced.