Jeju plan to allow Chinese tourist drivers stokes safety backlash in South Korea

Jeju’s renewed push to allow Chinese tourists to drive rental cars on the South Korean resort island is reigniting a decade-old debate over safety, insurance and legal loopholes.On July 2, the island’s Vice-Governor Park Cheon-su said allowing Chinese tourists to drive could boost visitor spending during a live-streamed meeting with senior provincial government officials.“A large portion of independent foreign travellers are Chinese, but they cannot use rental cars at the moment,” Park said. “If necessary, we could consider providing several hours of driving training in a short period so they can drive, as part of easing regulations.”Park’s remarks quickly triggered backlash online.Many questioned who would be responsible in the event of accidents and whether Jeju’s already overtaxed road safety system could withstand an influx of foreign drivers inexperienced with South Korea’s traffic systems.In response, the provincial government issued a statement on July 4 explaining that the idea was “not a reviewed or decided policy”.As more Chinese travellers move around the island with individual itineraries, demand for flexible personal mobility has increased but legal and practical hurdles remain in place.China is not a signatory to the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, which means Chinese driving licences are invalid in South Korea. Chinese tourists must obtain a Korean licence to drive a rental car. On the other hand, South Korean tourists can receive temporary permits and rent cars in China, an asymmetry that supporters of change say Jeju can no longer ignore.A scene of a traffic accident involving a rental car on Jeju Island in 2024. Photo: Jeju Fire Safety HeadquartersThe debate over whether Chinese tourists should be allowed to drive on Jeju is not new.In 2014, when the number of Chinese visitors to Jeju surged, the province proposed a special exception to the Jeju-special-act" class="entity-link entity-topic" data-entity-id="164819" data-entity-type="topic">Jeju Special Act, allowing short-stay Chinese nationals with valid licences to receive a 90-day temporary permit, usable only on Jeju after the completion of identity checks, a brief written test and traffic safety training.The amendment passed a cabinet meeting but was stripped during a parliamentary review in 2015 due to safety concerns.In 2019, Seoul and Beijing began talks on mutual recognition of driving licences, but progress was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. At the Jeju-forum" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="164821" data-entity-type="event">Jeju Forum in 2024, tourism scholar Kim Ui-geun argued that it was time to revisit rental car access to improve local transport convenience for Chinese visitors.Further ReadingLast year, the National Police Agency told lawmakers during the National Assembly audit that it was reviewing a model under which licences issued in China would be recognised on condition that holders declare them on entry and obtain a temporary domestic driving certificate.Among those who do not support the approach, safety is the biggest concern.Over the past five years, Jeju has recorded 2,414 traffic accidents involving rental cars, leaving 26 people dead and 4,032 injured. Rental vehicles account for 11.4 per cent of all local traffic accidents – the only double-digit share among South Korea’s regional jurisdictions.Visitors stroll through a field of silver grass on Jeju Island last year. Photo: EPA/YonhapRecent cases of vehicle rollovers and head-on collisions involving young and drunk drivers prompted Jeju police to designate May and June as special management periods for rental car accidents, including tightened checks on high-risk driver groups.Many fear that opening the door to Chinese drivers without safeguards and insurance policy regulations would be reckless.However, some experts warn that shelving the debate is equally short-sighted.“It’s time to discuss this seriously,” Moon Sung-jong, a tourism policy professor at Jeju Halla University, said. “Opening immediately without any preparation would be hasty.”He suggested a phased approach that would begin with improving public transport, educating visitors on Jeju’s road environment, building social consensus on whether and how to permit renting cars to Chinese drivers and refining relevant laws and regulations.“In the long term, allowing Chinese tourists to drive rental cars on Jeju will be difficult to avoid,” he said. “We need to prepare thoroughly and approach the issue step by step.”