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Police to Crack Down on Drivers Watching DMB

Seoul May 7, 2005; Lee Jin-woo writing for the Korea Times reported that drivers are banned from watching satellite digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) behind the wheel to ensure their safety, police said Sunday.

The National Police Agency said drivers who use the video-on-the-go services will be fined and given penalty points as the behavior is considered more dangerous than using mobile phones while driving.

``If you watch DMB, you can easily be distracted by the pictures on a mobile handset,'' said a police officer.

With the police warning, drivers will not be allowed to enjoy TV broadcasting with a phone, or an in-car terminal set on a holder in front of a driver's seat or a passenger seat.

The current traffic law bans drivers from handling cell phones, but allows their use through a headset or a microphone while driving.

A driver of a passenger car may be fined 60,000 won ($60) and a van driver 70,000 won for violating the regulation in addition to a penalty of 15 points.

If a driver accumulates a total of 121 penalty points or more within a year, 201 points within two years or 271 points within three years, his or her license will be invalidated.

Police detected around 183,000 cases of such violations last year, often causing disputes between police officers and violating drivers.

TU Media, a unit of SK Telecom, the nation's largest mobile service operator, launched the first DMB service to its cell phone users for the first time in the world on May 1.

Satellite DMB enables people on the move to enjoy seamless video streaming, theater-quality audio and data through a hand-held digital device.

The company runs seven DMB channels including news, sports, dramas, games, movies and the firm's own station as well as 20 audio channels.