Car rentals have sparked a driving craze among young people and women in Pyongyang—and now North Korean authorities are scrambling to crack down on the corruption that’s made getting a license as easy as knowing the right person or paying the right bribe.
A source in the country reported recently that corruption was quietly widespread in the licensing process—including bribes and using connections with officials—but authorities have recently begun emphasizing strict oversight and rule-following.
While the official cost of a driver’s license ranges from 8,000 to 25,000 North Korean won depending on the license category, additional expenses keep piling up for meals, transportation, and gas. Children from wealthy, well-connected families sometimes even get licenses without taking any test at all.
But since May, driving schools have been installing cameras at test sites to prevent cheating, and test proctors are now rotated between regions to increase transparency.
“It’s become much harder to issue illegal licenses in Pyongyang because when there’s an accident in the capital, authorities trace back to whoever issued the license and punish them,” the source explained.
North Korean authorities view it as a serious security risk for drivers who obtained licenses through bribes or corruption to be sharing the roads with Kim Jong Un’s motorcade.
“Getting a license through bribes or connections in Pyongyang could potentially ‘threaten the leader’s safety,’” the source said. “They basically see unqualified drivers as a threat to the supreme leader himself.”