A man in his 30s who got behind the wheel after sleeping off a night of drinking on his commute to work has been fined 20 million won.
Ulsan District Court criminal single-judge Division 3, Presiding Judge Lee Jae-wook, said on the 5th that it had sentenced A, a man in his 30s indicted on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act, to a fine of 20 million won.
In February, A drove about 18 kilometers from Geumjeong District in Busan to Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, in the morning with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.051 percent. He was caught in a drunk-driving checkpoint. He had gone to sleep after drinking until 3 a.m.
He may have believed he was sober. The law sees it differently. There is an important point to consider in why.
◆ Why it is still “drunk driving” after sleeping
Under the Road Traffic Act, driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.03 percent or higher is considered drunk driving. Whether a person slept or whether they feel intoxicated is not the standard. The only standard is the amount of alcohol in the body.
A’s level was 0.051 percent. That falls into the license-suspension range. Under current law, 0.03 percent to less than 0.08 percent results in license suspension, while 0.08 percent or higher leads to license revocation.
The problem is that alcohol does not disappear easily. Alcohol in the body is broken down only gradually, by about 0.008 to 0.03 percentage points per hour. Drinking until dawn leaves alcohol in the body by morning. A few hours of sleep do not mean it is all gone. That is why driving with a hangover is dangerous.
◆ How the 20 million won fine was determined
The Road Traffic Act sets the penalty for drunk driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.03 percent to less than 0.2 percent at imprisonment for one year to five years or a fine of 5 million won to 20 million won. The 20 million won A received is the maximum fine in that range.
The severity was due to a reason. This was not A’s first offense. Several years ago, he had received a suspended prison sentence for drunk driving and other offenses. The law treats repeat offenders more harshly if they are caught again within 10 years of being punished for drunk driving. That was the background to the prosecution’s request for a prison sentence.
The court weighed imprisonment against a fine. It concluded that imprisonment would be appropriate to prevent reoffending. However, it took several factors into account: that this was a hangover-driving case, that the blood alcohol concentration was relatively low and at a license-suspension level, that he was caught in the morning after drinking late into the night, and that he showed remorse. The result was a fine.
◆ What the hangover-driving ruling means
Similar rulings continue to follow. Earlier, the Chuncheon District Court also sentenced a man in his 50s who drove while hungover to a fine of 5 million won. He was caught after driving about 2.9 kilometers with alcohol still in his system from drinks the previous night. He too had a history of drunk-driving offenses.
Penalties have become more stringent. After the so-called Yoon Chang-ho Act took effect in 2019, the thresholds were lowered. The license-suspension standard was reduced from 0.05 percent to 0.03 percent, and the license-revocation standard from 0.1 percent to 0.08 percent. Even one or two drinks can now reach the punishment threshold.
Hangover driving comes from a common misconception: “I slept, so I’m fine.” The numbers prove otherwise. Alcohol consumed late the previous night can still remain in the body the next morning. That is why drivers need to check again before getting behind the wheel.
A’s case shows that boundary. Sleep can buy time, but it cannot fully remove alcohol.