The social cost incurred from road traffic accidents in 2022 exceeded 26 trillion won. (Image courtesy of Kobiz Media)
WONJU, Feb. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – The Korea Road Traffic Authority (KoRoad) revealed on February 15 that the social cost incurred from road traffic accidents in 2022 exceeded 26 trillion won. This estimation includes the monetary value of human and material damages as well as the costs borne by social institutions.
Despite a 2.6% decrease from 2021, the social cost of road traffic accidents still represents 1.2% of the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which amounts to 2,161.8 trillion won, and 4.3% of the national budget for 2022, which was 607.7 trillion won.
Human damages, including the cost of casualties and injuries, accounted for the largest portion, 48%, amounting to 12.6 trillion won. In 2022, there was one casualty or injury every 16 seconds, leading to a total of 194,520 accident victims. The cost of human damages per individual was estimated at 6.49 million won.
The average cost per accident victim varied depending on the severity: 530.4 million won for fatalities, 68.9 million won for serious injuries, 5.2 million won for minor injuries, and 2.7 million won for reported injuries.
Material damages, such as vehicle damage, constituted 45.6% of the social cost, tallying up to 11.98 trillion won. The cost for accident investigation and emergency response services accounted for 6.5% of the total, amounting to 1.7 trillion won.
Kim Jung-hyo, head of the Policy Research Department at the Korea Road Traffic Authority, stated, “Although the number of road traffic fatalities in South Korea decreased to a record low of 2,735 in 2022, the social cost remains high at 26 trillion won annually. While the cost of human damages and social institution expenses have decreased, the increase in material damages highlights a significant challenge that our society needs to address.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
