A person in their 50s who visited a local police station to report a minor traffic accident has been convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) after being caught with a hangover. The individual had argued that there was an error in the breathalyzer test results.
The court ruled against the defendant, stating, "The reliability of the breathalyzer test procedures and equipment is recognized, and there are no circumstances to cast doubt on the measurement results."
The Chuncheon District Court announced that it had sentenced the individual, identified as A, to a fine of 5 million won for violating the Road Traffic Act by driving under the influence.
A was indicted on charges of driving a passenger car for approximately 2.9 km in the Chuncheon area with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.03% at around 11:10 a.m. on October 18 of last year.
Investigations revealed that A had consumed alcohol the night before the incident. The next day, after discovering that their parked car had been hit, A drove to the police station to report the damage.
When police noticed the smell of alcohol, they conducted a breath test. After the device indicated a positive result, they had A rinse their mouth with water before confirming the DUI with a breathalyzer.
In court, A admitted to driving with a hangover but denied the charges, claiming that their BAC could have been below the 0.03% threshold at the time of the test.
A’s defense argued, "Since the 0.03% reading is right at the legal minimum threshold, the result could have been affected by equipment errors or external factors, yet the police did not conduct repeat measurements." However, the court did not accept this argument.
The court determined that the charges were valid, noting that the breathalyzer used had been calibrated three months prior and that A did not raise an objection or request a blood test at the time of the measurement.
The court further explained, "The measurement was conducted using equipment that met quality standards, and measures were taken to prevent inflated readings caused by residual alcohol in the mouth, leaving no room for doubt."
The court added, "Based on alcohol metabolism rates—where blood alcohol levels typically peak 30 to 39 minutes after consumption and then decrease by 0.008% to 0.03% per hour—it is possible that the actual BAC was even higher than the 0.03% measured at the time of the incident."
Regarding the sentencing, the court stated, "While A has a history of two prior DUI convictions, we have considered mitigating factors such as the nature of the hangover driving and the fact that the blood alcohol level was not high."
(Photo: Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)