Police Chief Loses Lawsuit Over Demotion for Driving 14 Kilometers While Drunk

A senior South Korean police officer who drove about 14 kilometers while drunk has lost his bid to overturn a demotion, with the court saying police must meet a higher standard than other civil servants.

The Seoul Administrative Court’s 10th Administrative Division ruled against the former superintendent on Aug. 27, according to reporting compiled by Hankyoreh. The officer, identified only as A, was caught driving from Seoul’s Seongdong district to Yeongdeungpo district last year.

“

Police officers are the people who enforce drunk-driving laws.

His blood alcohol concentration measured 0.085%, a level treated as grounds for license cancellation. He received a 7 million won fine through a summary order and was demoted in May last year. In December, he sued the National Police Agency commissioner, arguing that the police disciplinary standard requiring dismissal or demotion for drunk driving above 0.08% was excessively harsh compared with rules for other public officials.

“

It cannot be regarded as discriminatory treatment without a reasonable basis to set stricter disciplinary standards for police officers’ drunk-driving conduct than for other public officials.

The standard applied to him had been revised in 2024 to heighten awareness of drunk driving among police officers. The court rejected his claim that the rule amounted to unjustified discrimination.

“Police officers are the people who enforce drunk-driving laws,” the court said, adding that stricter disciplinary standards for police drunk driving had a reasonable basis. It also said the officer’s conduct was highly blameworthy, risked damaging the dignity of the public service and public trust, and required firm action to prevent similar cases and maintain discipline within the police.

“

The conduct is highly blameworthy, risks damaging the dignity of the public service as a whole and undermining public trust, and requires firm action.