VIOLATIONS AT BORYEONG UNDERWATER TUNNEL

[Anchor Lead]

The Boryeong Underwater Tunnel, the longest of its kind in Korea, has become notorious for reckless traffic violations -- people stopping their cars in the middle of the tunnel and running around, cars moving in the wrong direction, and motorbikes racing at high speed.

[Pkg]

A car passing through a tunnel brakes to a halt in the middle of the road. A man and a woman get off the car. Then the man begins to chase a car passing by in another lane. A procession of ten motorcycles races in the tunnel at full speed, even though they are banned from entering the tunnel. There are also cars spotted moving in the wrong direction. These are all illegal acts, captured inside the Boryeong Underwater Tunnel, which opened in Chungcheongnam-do Province last December. It's easy to spot drivers stopping their cars illegally to take pictures in front of location signs. More than 30 illegal behaviors were detected by the tunnel management office in just three months. Motorcycles were mostly spotted on weekends while those taking photos with illegally parked cars — at nighttime when traffic was less heavy.

[Soundbite] Park Jong-pil(Boryeong Underwater Tunnel Management Office) : "There's no way we can stop two-wheeled vehicles. We requested police help to catch traffic violators."

Accidents in this tunnel measuring 7km-long with the speed limit of 70 km an hour can result in serious tragedies. That's the reason accident-prone motorcycles and low-speed vehicles like agricultural machinery are not allowed to enter the newly-built tunnel.

[Soundbite] Chung Woo-jin(Chungnam Provincial Police Agency) : "In addition to on-site crackdowns, we also analyze video files to catch traffic violators."

Police have indicted six drivers for speeding in the tunnel. Drivers who have been caught for driving in the wrong direction or stopping their cars in illegal areas will be levied fines and penalties.