The number of traffic deaths in South Korea dropped to a record low of around 2,500 last year, nearly half the figure recorded a decade ago, data showed.

A total of 2,551 people died from road accidents in 2023, a 6.7 percent decline from the 2,735 deaths recorded the previous year, according to the National Police Agency.

It marks an 81 percent drop compared with 1991, when the death toll hit the highest at 13,429, and nearly half the rate from a decade ago, when fatalities from vehicle crashes stood at 5,092 in 2013.

However, the total number of accidents and injuries saw a slight increase on-year, recording 198,296 accidents and 283,799 injuries. Both figures showed a hike of 0.7 percent. (Yonhap)