Overall highway crashes decreased over the past five years.
By contrast, crashes inside tunnels increased, as did the share involving multiple vehicles colliding in succession.
This is why a decline in the number of crashes alone does not necessarily mean that tunnel sections have become less dangerous.
3-Line Summary
1. Overall highway crashes decreased by 18.2%
2. Tunnel crashes increased by 5.5%
3. The risk of secondary collisions must also be considered in tunnels
Overall Crashes Declined, While Tunnel Crashes Increased
An analysis by Hwang Hee, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, of data from the Korea Expressway Corporation found that traffic crashes on highways managed by the corporation fell by 18.2%, from 1,735 (1735) in 2021 to 1,419 (1419) in 2025. During the same period, traffic crashes inside tunnels increased by 5.5%, from 109 to 115.
This is an aspect that can easily be overlooked if one looks only at the figure showing that “highway crashes decreased.” When a crash occurs in a tunnel, space for changing lanes or exiting may be limited, so the risk of crashes that follow the initial collision needs to be examined separately.
From 2021 through 2025, there were 554 tunnel crashes in total, in which 48 people were killed and 371 were injured. The number of crashes declined to 94 in 2023, then rose to 140 in 2024, and stood at 115 in 2025.
Multi-Vehicle Collisions Involving 3 or More Vehicles Accounted for 44.9% of Tunnel Crashes
Among tunnel crashes over the past five years, 249 involved 3 or more vehicles colliding in a chain, accounting for 44.9% of the total. Multi-vehicle collisions accounted for 35.5% of all highway crashes, meaning the share was 9.4% points higher in tunnels.
There were 127 collisions involving 3 vehicles, 75 involving 4 vehicles, and 47 involving 5 or more vehicles. The incident involving the most vehicles was a 14-vehicle collision that occurred in April 2025 on the Tongyeong-bound side of Madal Tunnel on the Jungbu Expressway.
This is the context behind calls that the key is to prevent following vehicles from colliding again after an initial crash. Hwang Hee said that warning systems should be strengthened to detect crashes immediately and alert following vehicles to the danger. This was the lawmaker’s proposal and does not mean that strengthening measures have been finalized.
Inattention Was Most Common, While Speeding Had a High Fatality Rate
Inattention accounted for 296 tunnel crashes, or 53.4%, making it the most common cause. It was followed by drowsiness at 83 crashes, failure to maintain a safe distance at 41, and speeding at 32. The share attributed to inattention was higher than the 42.6% recorded for all highway crashes.
Speeding accounted for just 5.8% of tunnel crashes, but there were 18.8 fatalities per 100 crashes. This was approximately 2.4 times higher than the 7.9 fatalities per 100 crashes in all highway speeding crashes. These figures indicate that, rather than judging risk by frequency alone, it is especially important inside tunnels to watch the road ahead and maintain sufficient distance.
The tunnel with the most crashes was Mungyeong 2 Tunnel on the Yangpyeong-bound side of the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway, with 13. Five of the top 10 tunnels for frequent crashes were on the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway. Tunnel safety remains a task requiring the structures of repeatedly affected sections and crash response to be reviewed together, separately from overall crash trends.
References
Tags #Highway #HighwayCrashes #TunnelCrashes #MultiVehicleTunnelCollisions #TrafficCrashes #JungbuNaeryukExpressway #Mungyeong2Tunnel #Inattention #DrowsyDriving #SafeFollowingDistance #Speeding #RoadSafety