Court Rules Demotion Justified for Police Officer Caught Drunk Driving

A court has ruled that a disciplinary demotion imposed on a police officer who drove under the influence at a level warranting license revocation is justified.

The court emphasized that police officers, who are tasked with cracking down on drunk driving, bear a greater degree of moral culpability for driving under the influence than other public officials.

The Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 10 (Presiding Judge Jung Eun-young) ruled against plaintiff A, a police officer who had filed a lawsuit against the National Police Agency commissioner seeking to cancel his demotion.

Officer A, a senior superintendent working at a regional police agency, was caught driving drunk last year for about 14 kilometers from the area around Seongdong-gu in Seoul to Dorimcheon-ro in Yeongdeungpo-gu, leading to the demotion.

At the time, Officer A's blood alcohol concentration was 0.085 percent, which is the level for license revocation, and he received a summary order of a 7 million won fine.

Officer A filed an administrative lawsuit arguing that the police disciplinary guideline—which stipulates that driving under the influence with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher must result in dismissal or demotion—was excessively harsh.

However, the court presiding over the case rejected Officer A's argument, stating there was no problem with the regulation.

The court pointed out, "The disciplinary standard was revised in 2024 to raise awareness among police officers regarding drunk driving," adding, "As police officers are the ones who crack down on drunk driving, their culpability for driving under the influence is higher than that of other public officials."

The court particularly emphasized, "Officer A, who holds the rank of senior superintendent and serves as an important leader within the police organization, was required to have a higher sense of law-abiding consciousness than other police officers."

( Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.