“You must use your turn signal even while waiting for a left-turn signal” ... Intensive crackdown on turn-signal violations through year-end

[Financial News]  Police are conducting an intensive crackdown on drivers who change lanes or turn left or right without using their turn signals. Drivers must also use their turn signals while waiting for a signal in a left-turn-only lane. Violators may face an administrative fine of up to 40,000 won for passenger cars.
According to the National Police Agency on the 15th, the intensive crackdown will run from the 1st through December 31. It targets basic traffic-law violations, including failure to use turn signals. After conducting public information and guidance activities in August and September, police stepped up enforcement in October.
The rules for using turn signals are set out in Article 38 of the Road Traffic Act. Drivers intending to turn left or right, make a U-turn, or change lanes must signal to inform other vehicles of their direction of travel.
On ordinary roads, drivers must signal at least 30 meters before turning or changing lanes; on expressways, they must signal at least 100 meters beforehand. They must keep signaling until they have completed the turn or lane change.
Drivers must use their turn signals in lanes designated for left or right turns, too. The same applies when waiting for a signal in a left-turn-only lane. Drivers must not omit their signals because there are no other vehicles nearby or because the lane allows only one direction of turn.
If drivers are caught by a police officer at the scene for failing to use a turn signal, they face a penalty ticket of 30,000 won for passenger cars and vans, and 20,000 won for motorcycles.
By contrast, if a violation is confirmed through a public-interest report using dashcam footage or other evidence, administrative fines of 40,000 won for passenger cars and vans, and 30,000 won for motorcycles, may be imposed.
The claim recently circulated online that “new penalties for failing to use turn signals took effect in October” is false. The obligation to signal when turning has been stipulated since the Road Traffic Act was enacted in 1961. Penalty tickets for failing to use turn signals have also been issued since 1973.
A survey found that on actual roads, about one in four vehicles turning left did not use a turn signal. In the 2025 Traffic Culture Index survey by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, 75.7% of vehicles used their turn signals when turning left at intersections.
There have also been many reports of drivers failing to use turn signals. According to the National Police Agency, 1,497,280 related public-interest reports were received over the three years from 2023 to 2025. During the same period, police caught 104,131 violations at the scene and issued penalty tickets; the amount actually paid totaled about 2.92 billion won.
Police are also pursuing a plan to assign 10 demerit points to drivers who fail to use turn signals. The proposed amendment to the relevant enforcement rules has completed its legislative notice period and is expected to take effect as early as mid-2027. For now, however, only the existing penalty-ticket and administrative-fine rules apply, with no demerit points.


[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter