Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. As year-end gatherings swing into full gear, alcohol often takes center stage. Office dinners, reunions with old classmates, family get-togethers, workplace parties and New Year’s celebrations tend to pile up in quick succession. Before long, drinking can start to feel like part of everyday life. But behind the festive mood is a set of health and safety risks. According to the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, alcohol consumption during the year-end holiday season increases by as much as 25 percent compared with usual levels, accompanied by a rise in alcohol-related accidents and hospitalizations. Binge drinking, in particular, becomes more common, driving up traffic accidents and alcohol-related crimes and potentially turning casual drinking into a broader social problem. In South Korea, the Korea Transportation Safety Authority reported a total of 13,042 drunk-driving accidents in 2023. Of those, 4,025 occurred in December alone, about 18 percent higher than the monthly average. Around 100 people were killed in drun