"Drank Alcohol but Not Drunk Driving"…First Trial Acquits Those Caught in DUI Checks

Court: "Measured During Blood Alcohol Concentration Rising Phase"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] A driver who was caught at the license suspension level during a police drunk driving crackdown was acquitted in the first trial.

On the 5th, Judge Kim Ji-young of the Criminal Division 14 at Seoul Southern District Court announced that she had acquitted Park Mo (42), who was indicted for violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving).

Park was prosecuted for driving his passenger car in a drunken state on a road in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, at around 10:45 p.m. on November 11 last year. At that time, Park's blood alcohol concentration was 0.033%, which is the license suspension level (0.03%).

However, Park admitted to drinking about 400cc of beer at around 9:30 p.m. that day but argued that his blood alcohol concentration did not exceed 0.03% while driving.

Due to a delay in the on-site alcohol measurement, the test was repeated two to three times, during which the blood alcohol concentration level rose, leading to the crackdown.

The court ruled in favor of Park based on research results on changes in blood alcohol concentration after drinking. According to related studies, blood alcohol concentration peaks 30 to 90 minutes after drinking and then decreases by 0.008% to 0.03% per hour (an average of about 0.015%).

Accordingly, even if Park's blood alcohol concentration exceeded the license suspension standard at the time of measurement, if the measurement was taken during the rising phase of blood alcohol concentration, it is possible that his blood alcohol concentration was below 0.03% when he was driving.

Park was caught in the police drunk driving crackdown at around 10:45 p.m. after drinking beer until about 10:20 p.m. on the day of the incident. The blood alcohol concentration was measured at around 10:55 p.m.

The court judged, "The driving end time based on the defendant's last drinking time was about 25 minutes later, and the alcohol measurement was taken 35 minutes later. Both times likely fall within the period when blood alcohol concentration is rising."

It added, "According to related research, during the 10-minute interval between the crackdown time and the measurement time in this case, the defendant's blood alcohol concentration may have increased by more than 0.005%. Therefore, the blood alcohol concentration at the end of driving was likely about 0.028%."

The court also stated, "Although the police investigation report noted that the defendant stammered slightly, staggered, and had a flushed complexion at the time, it is difficult to conclude solely from this report that the blood alcohol concentration was above 0.03% at the time of driving." The prosecution appealed the verdict.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.