Q: It’s a little embarrassing, but I got a letter from the police. Here’s a thing. I don’t remember when it was exactly, but someone took a picture of me changing the lane without a blinker. And obviously that person reported it, and the police sent me a letter of “교통 법규 위반 사실 확인 요청서”. Now, what am I supposed to do?

A: You must have been surprised. It’s no fun to receive a formal letter from the police.

Let me translate교통 법규 위반 사실 확인 요청서.

교통 traffic / 법규 law / 위반 violation / 사실 fact / 확인 confirmation / 요청서 request

= Traffic Law Violation Fact Confirmation Request

These days everybody has a phone. They are actually called “Car-parazzi”.

So every small mistake that you make on the road without even realizing can be caught on the picture.

Like… Let’s suppose that you smoked in your car, and the butt from the cigarette littered the road… This can be caught and recorded.

Or Let’s suppose that you were way too fast and furious on the road… then yes, that can leave a negative mark on your record…

Or…. let’s suppose that there was a heavy traffic to a certain exit of a high way.

You couldn’t wait long, and let’s suppose that you cut the line, changing the lane at a very last minute, then one can capture that moment.

Of course, you shouldn’t have done it in the first place.

But things happened, and you got this letter from the police.

Then what should you do if you receive “교통 법규 위반 사실 확인 요청서”?

If you take a close look at the letter, it says “면제 사유가 있을 경우 담당자에게 문의하시기 바랍니다” meaning “if there’s a reason for exemption, please contact the person in charge.”

So please make a phone call to the police station, and explain your reasoning behind your action.

If you cannot defend yourself, you are required to pay the fine.