‘Chug-and-go’ DUI-evasion tactic finally outlawed in Korea

Singer Kim Ho-joong, accused of drunk driving and fleeing the scene, is escorted out of the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, May 24, 2024. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seok

In the early hours this month in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, a 49-year-old individual — whose name was not disclosed — was apprehended by police on suspicion of drunk driving.

What happened next stunned the officers — and laid bare a once-glaring loophole in Korea’s laws on driving under the influence. Before police could test the driver’s blood alcohol level, the individual grabbed a bottle of alcohol and began chugging it on the spot.

Starting this month, a revised legal provision clearly establishes grounds for punishing drivers who consume additional alcohol in an attempt to obstruct police from accurately measuring their blood alcohol level at the time of driving.

Under the revised Road Traffic Act, drivers can now face penalties for consuming alcohol after operating a vehicle if police reasonably suspect they were already intoxicated and are trying to evade accurate breathalyzer tests.

First-time offenders face one to five years in prison or a fine between 5 million ($3,684) and 20 million won. Their driver’s license may also be revoked.

Those caught obstructing a sobriety test after riding a personal mobility device or bicycle while intoxicated will be fined 130,000 won and 100,000 won, respectively.

Repeat offenders — those convicted again within 10 years — face harsher penalties: one to six years in prison, or fines ranging from 5 million to 30 million won.

This method of evading DUI charges gained wider public attention after singer Kim Ho-joong was involved in a drunk driving accident in the affluent Apgujeong area of southern Seoul in May 2023.

At the time, Kim crashed into a taxi while driving under the influence and fled the scene. He appeared before police 17 hours later, during which time he was found to have purchased and consumed canned beer from a convenience store. Because his exact blood alcohol level at the time of the accident could not be determined, the drunk driving charge was ultimately dropped during prosecution.

The incident prompted the National Assembly to pass a revision to the Road Traffic Act in last November, criminalizing the act of drinking additional alcohol after an accident to prevent police from accurately measuring the driver’s blood alcohol level at the time of the offense.