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Police struggle to intervene as swarms of children ride bikes dangerously through streets of Asan

Published: 16 Sep. 2025, 15:33

Elementary school kids ride bicycles in groups in Asan, South Chungcheong. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Groups of elementary schoolchildren have been reportedly riding bicycles unlawfully and taking up streets in Baebang-eup, Asan, South Chungcheong, leaving police with limited means to intervene because most of the riders are below the age of criminal responsibility.

From January to Monday, residents and drivers filed 70 reports of dangerous cycling by children in Baebang-eup, complaining that the “kids ride in groups and swerve dangerously” and “take over the road and block cars,” Asan Police Precinct said on Tuesday.

Reports are concentrated on weekdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. near three elementary schools in the city.

Police reported 27 cases, which took place during the time period, and every rider involved was a child under the age of criminal responsibility, meaning the cases result in protective measures rather than criminal charges. Such measures can include community service, probation or transfer to a juvenile facility.

In Korea, children between the ages of 10 and 13 cannot face criminal punishment by law.

The children typically move in groups of four to five and block both lanes on two-lane roads. They circle intersections, perform stunt-like maneuvers or brake suddenly to obstruct vehicles behind them. Police say some of the same children reoffend and have been caught three times.

“It’s hard to crack down or penalize them in practice because the kids we catch are all elementary school students,” a police official said. “We warn them on the spot not to ride dangerously and send them home. Attempts to contact guardians often stall when children refuse to share phone numbers, as they say, 'Why? it is personal information.'"

Emboldened by the situation, some kids ignore cars and pedestrians, make obscene gestures at adults who call out the behavior and even hurl insults at responding officers, police said.

Authorities from Asan Police Precinct convened a departmental meeting on Monday to draw up countermeasures.

Police plan open-ended patrols around the three elementary schools in Baebang-eup where reports concentrate and will step up safety guidance and outreach with the Asan Office of Education under the Chungcheongnamdo Office of Education.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]