South Korea to mandate CCTV in all train cabs without exception

South Korea will require CCTV cameras in all train cabs without exception, closing a loophole that has long rendered the mandate largely ineffective.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Thursday it will pre-announce proposed amendments to the enforcement decree and rules of the Railway Safety Act, open for public comment through July 15, to strengthen railway safety and improve the investigation of rail accidents.

Although a 2016 revision to the law made cab CCTV installation mandatory, a clause exempting trains already equipped with an onboard data recorder allowed the vast majority of trains to avoid installing cameras. The National Assembly and the Board of Audit and Inspection have consistently raised concerns that the exemption undermined the law's intent and limited the ability to analyze accident causes.

The ministry will delete the exemption clause entirely. It will also expand the installation requirement beyond "powered vehicles" to cover "powered vehicles and passenger cars," reflecting the design of electric multiple unit trains, in which the cab is located in the leading passenger car rather than a separate locomotive.

To address privacy concerns and ease psychological pressure on engineers, the amendments include several safeguards. Footage from cab cameras will be retained for no more than 48 hours, the field of view will be kept to a minimum, and recorded images may be accessed or shared only when a railway accident has occurred.

"As we move forward with cab CCTV installation to analyze rail accident causes and strengthen safety, we will give full consideration to protecting engineers' personal information and creating safe operating conditions, so that both public safety and train operating safety are secured," said Kim Tae-byeong, director general of the ministry's Railway Bureau.

Meanwhile, the ministry plans to work with Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail) and the National Railway Network Authority to improve working conditions for train engineers, and to sharply tighten sanctions against mobile phone use while operating a train, bringing penalties to a level comparable to those for drunk driving.