Despite Fewer Bicycle Traffic Accidents Last Year, Fatalities Rise from 75 to 85

Ministry of the Interior and Safety Announces "2025 Bicycle Usage Statistics"
66% of All Accidents Caused by Failure to Fulfill Safe Driving Obligations
Local Governments' Initiatives Lead to More Bicycle Roads and Insurance Subscriptions

In the previous year, there were 5,235 bicycle traffic accidents, a 6.0% decrease compared to the year before. However, the number of fatalities increased from 75 to 85.

According to the "2025 Bicycle Usage Statistics" released by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on September 29, there were 5,235 bicycle traffic accidents throughout the previous year. This represents a 6.0% (336 cases) decrease compared to the 5,571 cases recorded the year prior. However, the number of fatalities rose by 13%, from 75 to 85.

Seoul Yeouido Station nearby storage facility is equipped with Ddareungi bike-sharing bicycles. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

An analysis by type of legal violation revealed that 3,458 accidents, accounting for 66% of all bicycle accidents, were caused by failure to fulfill safe driving obligations.

In terms of accidents by age group, the number of accidents involving individuals aged 20 and under increased by 2.4%, from 1,620 in 2024 to 1,659 in 2025. Meanwhile, accidents involving drivers aged 61 and over fell by 8.0%, from 1,804 to 1,659 over the same period.

The total length of bicycle roads nationwide reached 28,453 km, an increase of approximately 2.5% compared to 27,754 km in 2024. Compared to 2021, this is a 12.7% increase.

By type of road, the distribution was as follows: 21,033 km (74.0%) of bicycle-pedestrian shared roads, 3,875 km (13.6%) of exclusive bicycle roads, 2,458 km (8.6%) of bicycle-priority roads, and 1,087 km (3.8%) of exclusive bicycle lanes.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety analyzed that the increase in bicycle roads is the result of local governments consistently expanding bicycle road facilities to promote greater bicycle use.

The number of public bicycles reached 71,938, a 3.4% (2,366 units) increase from the previous year. However, the number of rentals declined by 9.3% (approximately 5.42 million cases), totaling around 52 million rentals compared to the previous year.

By region, Seoul accounted for the largest share of public bicycle rentals with 37 million cases (71%). This was followed by Daejeon with 5.97 million (11%), Gyeongnam with 5.02 million (10%), and Sejong with 2.62 million (5%).

The number of local governments subscribing to group bicycle insurance has steadily increased, so now more than 90% of the national population (about 47 million people) are eligible for coverage. The number of local governments subscribing to such group insurance rose from 168 in 2023 to 191 last year, an increase of 23.

As of 2025, bicycle usage statistics will be made available as electronic files on the official Ministry of the Interior and Safety website and the Bicycle Happiness Sharing website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.