Chinese Overseas Korean Fined 5 Million Won for Drunk Driving Loses Deportation Order Appeal

Court: "Concerns Over Public Safety and Social Order... Deportation Order Justified"

A Chinese national and overseas Korean who was fined 5 million won for drunk driving filed an administrative lawsuit claiming that the deportation order was excessive, but the court did not accept the claim.

Police officers belonging to the Mapo Police Station are conducting a drunk driving crackdown on a road in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On March 24, the Administrative Division 1 of the Cheongju District Court ruled against the plaintiff in the lawsuit filed by Mr. A, a Chinese citizen, seeking to cancel the deportation order issued by the Cheongju Immigration Office.

Mr. A, who entered Korea in 2019 on an F-4 (overseas Korean) visa, was caught driving a passenger car with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.098% on a road in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, in April of last year. He was subsequently tried for violating the Road Traffic Act and was fined 5 million won.

Based on this, the Cheongju Immigration Office issued a deportation order to Mr. A. Mr. A filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the order, arguing that he had paid the full fine and had been living diligently in Korean society.

However, the court did not accept his claim. The court found that Mr. A's blood alcohol concentration was considerably high and that there were no unavoidable circumstances that would have forced him to drive under the influence.

The court also noted that traffic accidents caused by drunk driving are on the rise and their consequences are severe, and therefore judged that there is a risk that Mr. A could pose a threat to public safety and social order in Korea in the future.

The court ruled that even if there is a possibility that Mr. A's livelihood may be affected, it is difficult to say that this disadvantage outweighs the public interest to be achieved by the deportation order.

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