**Ulsan Ulju County's 'Dramatic Policy' Encourages Elderly to Surrender Their Driver's Licenses**

A policy from Ulsan Ulju County that has led hundreds of seniors to voluntarily surrender their driver's licenses in just one month is gaining attention.

On the 16th, Ulju County announced that the number of elderly drivers aged 65 and older who voluntarily surrendered their licenses in the past month reached 410.

This figure astonishingly surpassed the total number of licenses surrendered in the entire previous year, which was 358.

The reason elderly drivers are willingly surrendering their licenses is due to the significant benefits introduced by Ulju County.

Starting this year, Ulju County has dramatically increased the incentive for elderly drivers surrendering their licenses from 100,000 KRW to 500,000 KRW.

Additionally, Ulju County is providing 400,000 KRW in Onnuri gift certificates to those who surrender their licenses, along with a 100,000 KRW transportation card supported by Ulsan City.

As a result, elderly drivers who surrender their licenses can receive benefits totaling 1,000,000 KRW.

An official from Ulju County stated, "The response to the expanded benefits has been much greater than expected," adding, "More than 90% of the 450 sets (40,000 KRW per person) of Onnuri gift certificates allocated to each town and village have already been exhausted, necessitating additional budget planning."

Furthermore, Ulju County plans to operate a 'second surrender benefits period' by July, allowing elderly individuals who surrender their licenses during this period to register on a waiting list to receive the same benefits.

Meanwhile, the government is operating a program that provides incentives to elderly drivers surrendering their licenses to enhance the management of licenses for seniors with reduced accident response capabilities.

However, the actual rate of elderly drivers surrendering their licenses remains very low at around 2%.

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