The status of safety management in areas with habitual road surface damage and construction areas must be inspected.

The status of safety management in areas with habitual road surface damage and construction areas must be inspected.

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Gyeong-jun = The number of damage compensation cases due to road damage on highways managed by the Korea Expressway Corporation has increased significantly.

According to data submitted by the Korea Expressway Corporation and released on the 22nd by Representative Yeom Tae-young of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly, the number of compensation cases for damage to roads increased from 1,218 in 2021 to 3,317 in 2025. This figure has increased 2.7 times in four years.

Looking at each route, the number of damage compensation cases increased steeply compared to the increase in traffic.

The annual number of vehicles using the Yeongdong Line increased by 4.3% from 117 million in 2021 to 122 million in 2025, and the number of damage compensation cases during the same period increased 7.7 times from 149 to 1,145.

In the case of the 1st Ring Line in the metropolitan area, the number of vehicles used per year decreased by 1.2% from 332 million to 328 million during the same period, but the number of damage compensation cases increased approximately 2.9 times from 208 to 610.

In relation to this, the Korea Expressway Corporation explained, "After first introducing the road damage compensation insurance system in 2018, we have strengthened publicity from 2020, which has had the impact of making the damage compensation system due to road damage known to the public," Rep. Yeom said.

Rep. Yeom emphasized, “Even considering that the damage compensation system is known, there are routes where damage compensation increases are greater than vehicle traffic, so we must closely inspect the areas with habitual road surface damage, repair history, and the status of safety management in construction areas.”