'Three strikes and you're OUT': Man jailed for drunk driving

A driver takes a sobriety test. / Korea Times file

By Park Si-soo

A man has been jailed for his third drunk driving offence after two “generous” trials.

An appellate court in Cheongju said Sunday it had sent the man, 26, to prison, overturning a lower court ruling to fine him 8 million won.

The court said that in light of the “three strikes and you're out” principle, the lower court's penalty was “too light to accept.”

The man was caught drunk driving in Cheongju on Jan. 25. His blood alcohol level was 0.087%, higher than the legal threshold to suspend his driver's license.

In December 2016 he received a suspended jail term for drunk driving. Two years later, he was caught again and fined 4 million won.