Controversy Over Promotion of Official Who Refused Breathalyzer Test... Union Calls It a Historic Personnel Disaster

Police Investigate Namwon-si Official for 'Refusing Breathalyzer Test'
Namwon-si States "Appropriate Disciplinary Action Will Be Taken Once Investigation Results Are Out"

Namwon City in Jeonbuk is facing controversy after promoting a public official who was arrested for refusing a breathalyzer test to a managerial level.

On the 15th, Yonhap News reported that "In the regular personnel announcement made on the 12th, Mr. A, who is under police investigation for refusing a breathalyzer test, was promoted to grade 5 (administrative officer)," highlighting the related controversy. Accordingly, Mr. A was appointed to a managerial position at the city hall.

Namwon City Hall exterior. [Image provided by Namwon City]

However, criticism has continued regarding Mr. A's promotion as an 'inappropriate personnel decision.' This is because Mr. A was found asleep on the shoulder of a highway and refused the police's breathalyzer test.

Mr. A is currently under investigation after being arrested on the spot for refusing the police's breathalyzer test three times on the downbound lane of the Gwangju-Daegu Expressway around 1 a.m. on the 31st of last month. At that time, Mr. A was sleeping in his vehicle stopped on the shoulder when police, who responded to a report, requested a breathalyzer test. However, he refused the test and reportedly stated during the police investigation that he had not consumed alcohol.

The Namwon City Public Officials Labor Union also issued a statement calling it a "historic personnel disaster." The union said, "Despite receiving notification of the police investigation, the city did not suspend him from his position and even promoted a public official who should have faced severe disciplinary action," questioning, "What is the reason for this?" They further criticized, "The public service community is at a loss for words in the face of this personnel disaster."

The Namwon City authorities explained that since Mr. A claimed he had not consumed alcohol, they proceeded with the personnel decision based on the presumption of innocence. A Namwon City official stated, "As this is an ongoing investigation with no conclusion yet, we judged that we could not impose disadvantages prematurely," adding, "Once the investigation results are out, appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken accordingly."

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