"Bizarre Claim: 'I Drank After Parking on the Shoulder'... Government Official Fined for Drunk Driving"

A Fine of 7 Million Won Imposed

A government official has been fined for driving under the influence on a highway.

The Asia Business Daily DB

According to Yonhap News on June 8, Judge Choi Yubin of the 9th Criminal Division of the Daejeon District Court sentenced civil servant A (age 37) to a fine of 7 million won for violating the Road Traffic Act by driving under the influence.

A was brought to trial on charges of driving for approximately 10 kilometers in a severely intoxicated state—from an apartment in Jeonmin-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, at around 1:25 a.m. on May 29 last year, to the Honam Expressway Branch in Juk-dong—before being reported by a Korea Expressway Corporation employee.

At the time of the incident, A's blood alcohol concentration was 0.120%. This far exceeds the license revocation threshold of 0.08%.

A reportedly told responding police officers, "I only drank inside the car after stopping on the highway shoulder; I was not driving under the influence."

However, it was also found that A subsequently asked the police for leniency, explaining that being caught drunk driving as a government official would result in severe disciplinary action.

The court judged A guilty based on several factors: the Korea Expressway Corporation employee testified that no liquor bottles were seen in the car at the time of detection; there was no evidence that alcohol had been consumed inside the vehicle; and A's statements to the police and the investigation records.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.