Tuesday, April 24, 2001

By Jim Lea and B.R. Sargent, Stars and Stripes

B.R. Sargent / Stars and Stripes Pfc. Rodney Norris, 1st Signal Brigade, (front) and Robert Nott, Youth Services sports director, purchase cell phones Monday from Yi Chi-yon and Pin Hana, sales agents for Samsung Rental Co., an AAFES concessionaire.

South Korean police will begin cracking down on drivers using cellular telephones and say they’ll make no exceptions for members of the U.S. military community.

"Using a cellular telephone while driving is an extremely dangerous practice, and foreigners here are just as guilty of using the phones as Koreans are," a police spokesman said. "Foreigners including U.S. military people caught using the telephones while driving will be stopped and be subject to fines just like everyone else.

"This is a campaign to protect the public and it applies to everyone," he said.

The crackdown, which police said will begin June 30, makes sense, U.S. military members said Monday.

"I know I’ve been distracted (while talking and driving) … trying to look at the numbers on the phone and looking at the road," said Robert Notts, Youth Services sports director on Yongsan Garrison. "(The law) probably will be very beneficial."

Currently, it is not illegal to talk on a cell phone will driving on post, but the provost marshall’s office is in the process of revising that regulation, base officials said.

Talking on the phone while driving can be dangerous, said Ginger Anklin, a USO volunteer on Yongsan.

"People should pull over if they need to use their phones," Anklin said. "I’ve driven behind many people who were on the phone. They’re just not paying attention."

Anyone caught using a cell phone while driving will be subject to a 60,000 won ($46) fine. Violators also will have 15 points added to their driving record. Anyone accumulating 40 points will have their drivers’ license suspended for 40 days, the police spokesman said.

Using "hands-free" cell phone devices while driving is permissible, the spokesman said.

But not all drivers plan to use that option.

"(The law) is good in a lot of ways," said Pfc. Rodney Morris, of Headquarters Headquarters Company, 1st Signal Brigade. "But sometimes you have business to conduct. I’ve done it (talking while driving) millions of times. I always keep my eyes on the road."

Morris said he would not purchase a hands-free kit. "It’s just too much noise in your ears," he said.

The looming crackdown has caused a run on those devices, say military and off-base retailers.

At Samsung Rental Co., an AAFES concessionaire on Yongsan, sales of the $15 hands-free cell phone kits have increased dramatically, said Yi Chi-yon, a customer service agent.

"We sold 12 last week," she said. The week before, the company sold only five kits.

"We’ve also added a new type of kit," Yi said.

By Monday morning, Samsung had one kit left on the shelf. Anyone who needs a kit now will have to place an order, Yi said.

Business is hotter off-base.

"Since the crackdown was announced a couple of weeks ago, we’ve been selling as many as 30 a day," said Kim Yong-hun, who operates a cell phone shop in Pyongtaek. "Before now, I was selling maybe three or four a day to people who mainly considered them a novelty. Now people really need them, and everyone is selling a lot of them."

The devices have an earphone with a small microphone attached. The device is plugged into the phone which then is put into auto-answer mode.

They sell for 10,000 to 80,000 won (about $8 to $60) and are available at most department stores and cellular phone shops.

Kim advised people who want to buy one of the devices to take their cellular phone with them when they shop. "Some of them are made for specific telephones and won’t work with all phones," he said.

Owners of older model phones that do not have a earphone connection may have difficulty finding the hands-free devices, he said. "Those people probably will have to buy a new telephone," he added. A new cellular telphone can be rented for about $30 a month.

In the past, South Korean police often have ignored minor traffic violations by foreigners because of the language barrier. That’s changing, however. Police now are enforcing payment of parking tickets and say they are ticketing foreigners as well as Koreans for not wearing seat belts.

Illegal parking carries a fine of 40,000 won (about $31), and the fine for failing to use seat belts is 30,000 won (about $23). The spokesman said, however, that he did not have statistics on how many parking and seat-belt tickets have been issued this year.

U.S. Forces Korea authorities say members of the military community are required to obey all Korean traffic regulations.

Back to April's stories
Page Two news roundup
Stories from March, 2001
Stories from February, 2001
Stories from January, 2001
Stories from December, 2000
Stories from November, 2000
Stories from October, 2000
Stories from August and September, 2000
Stories from June and July, 2000
Home