Ex-presidential secretary booked for drunk driving

By Kim Se-jeong

Cho Won-dong, former presidential secretary for economic affairs, has been booked for drunk driving, police said, Thursday.

According to officers from Suseo Police Station in southern Seoul, Cho allegedly crashed his car into a taxi on a street in Daechi-dong, at around 10:20 p.m. Wednesday while under the influence of alcohol.

The taxi driver, Kim, told police that Cho was in the driver’s seat. Kim and Cho allegedly argued over the damage, and as Cho tried to leave, Kim stopped him and called the police. Cho then allegedly ran away.

As police officers arrived at the scene, Cho allegedly came back but claimed a chauffeur service driver had been driving the car.

But police confirmed Cho’s driving through a surveillance camera recording. Cho refused to undergo a sobriety test, and police detained him.

Police released him after questioning, but plan to cancel his driver’s license.

This is the second time Cho has been in trouble for allegedly driving drunk. The first incident was in 2006, and it led to his failure in a promotion bid at the finance ministry. He became the senior secretary in 2013 and left the position in June last year.