The Constitutional Court will determine the constitutionality of the current law that uniformly limits vehicle speeds to 30 km/h in child protection zones. It will examine whether setting child protection zones 24 hours a day without exception, regardless of weekdays or holidays, excessively infringes on the constitutional rights to freedom of action and privacy.
According to the legal community on the 6th, the Constitutional Court has recently referred a constitutional petition regarding Article 12, Section 1 of the Road Traffic Act to a full bench of nine judges for review.
Article 12, Section 1 of the Road Traffic Act states that 'mayors, etc., may designate part of the road as a child protection zone and limit the traffic speed of automobiles to 30 km/h if deemed necessary to protect children from the risk of traffic accidents.' As of the end of 2023, there are 16,940 child protection zones where this law is applied. Vehicles passing through these zones must travel at a speed of 30 km/h or less, 24 hours a day, regardless of weekdays or holidays.
The attorney Cha Da-eun (4th time bar examination), who filed the constitutional petition this time through the law firm Hanjoong, argues that the setting of child protection zones without exceptions excessively infringes on constitutional rights to freedom of action and privacy, thus violating the constitutional principle of proportionality.
Previously, he received a fine for passing through a child protection zone at a speed of 48 km/h around 4:41 a.m. on Jan. 17. He filed an objection to this fine and requested a summary judgment, and when his application for a constitutional trial was dismissed by the presiding judge, he submitted a constitutional petition to the Constitutional Court.
This is the first time that Article 12, Section 1 of the Road Traffic Act is receiving formal judgment from the Constitutional Court. A constitutional petition was filed once in February 2021 but was dismissed at the preliminary review stage due to exceeding the filing period.
Attorney Cha stated in the constitutional petition that 'the clause in question, which has no exception provisions, seriously infringes on the general right to freedom of action, the privacy of secrets and freedom, and the right to equality guaranteed by the Constitution.'
He also noted, 'Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia generally limit speeds in school zones only during school hours on weekdays,' adding, 'Korea could also have legislated with the principle of relaxing speed limits.'
In some areas, speed limits are being relaxed in child protection zones. From late night when children are hardly present until around 7 a.m., the speed limit of 30 km/h is raised to 50 km/h. As of the end of last year, there were 43 locations where speed limits were relaxed at night.
Discussions at the National Assembly have taken place regarding this issue, but progress has been slow. A revision to the Road Traffic Act, which allows for flexible operation of speed limits in child protection zones during weekends, night hours, and school vacation periods, is pending in the National Assembly's Administrative Safety Committee, initiated by lawmaker Woo Jae-jun. It was previously proposed in the 21st National Assembly but was discarded due to the expiration of the term.