Signs alerting smartphone-using pedestrians are placed in a crowded area in Seoul. [Photograph by Park Sae-jin]
SEOUL -- South Korea's telecom watchdog released a smartphone app to prevent road accidents by teenagers and other young distracted people immersed in smartphones in the busy streets.
"Smombies" (smartphone zombies), which refer to smartphone-addicted people who look down to their phones while walking, have become a common global problem in populated cities. Because their eyesight is fixed downwards, they are prone to accidents.
The Korea Communications Commission said in a statement Wednesday that its app called "Cyber Safety Zone" locks up the phone if a user takes five to seven steps.
"We wish the rate of smartphone-related accidents to decrease with our anti-Smombie app," a watchdog official was quoted as saying in the statement. The watchdog is developing a similar app for adults.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the accident rate of smartphone-using pedestrians has increased 1.6 times over the last five years. Young people under 20 took up more than 40 percent.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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