Lawmaker who condemned drink-driving caught red-handed

By Ko Dong-hwan

Rep. Lee Yong-joo asks a question during a National Assembly audit on Oct. 26. Yonhap

A Korean lawmaker who condemned drinking and driving has been caught doing so.

Rep. Lee Yong-ju of the minor Party for Democracy and Peace faced a platoon of journalists Thursday, admitting the charge. He said the allegations were “entirely facts and my fault.”

Lee, 50, was caught with a blood-alcohol level of 0.089 percent on the south side of the Han River, on the Olympic Expressway, about 11 p.m. Wednesday. Another driver reported him to police. His reading is higher than the legal cap to revoke a license.

The lawmaker, who represents an electorate in the coastal city of Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, said he had been drinking with his staff and those from another lawmaker's office. It was partly to celebrate the end of the National Assembly audit period from Oct. 10 to 29.

Lee said he usually drives when he commutes to the National Assembly in Yeouido. But on this occasion he said he should have hired a chauffeur.

In September, Lee was among 103 lawmakers who called for stronger punishment for those driving under the influence of alcohol. The move came after a drunk driver hit Yoon Chang-ho, a soldier on vacation, leaving him brain dead. The lawmakers dubbed the new proposal the “Yoon Chang-ho law.”

Lee, calling drunk driving a “murderous act rather than a mistake,” said the proposed law would hopefully raise public awareness of the crime.