South Korea to mandate in-vehicle breathalysers for repeat drink driving offenders

SEOUL - To combat the persistent problem of drink driving in the country, South Korea is rolling out a new policy that will require repeat offenders to blow into a breathalyser every time they start their car, authorities told local media on Sept 17.

The policy, set to take effect on Oct 25, applies to anyone caught driving under the influence (DUI) more than twice in the past five years.

Offenders will be responsible for installing at their own expense the breathalyser-like device – called the ignition interlock device – which prevents a vehicle from starting if the driver’s blood alcohol concentration is above a certain level.

The mandatory use of the device will last for as long as an offender’s licence was suspended, which means those whose licences were revoked for two years will need to keep the devices installed for two years after their driving privileges are reinstated.

Drink driving has plagued South Korea for years, with police data recording 130,150 cases in 2023 – a nearly 20 per cent rebound from pandemic lows and close to the 130,772 incidents recorded in 2019.

From 2018 to 2022, alcohol-related crashes claimed 1,348 lives and injured 134,890 people in South Korea, according to the Korea Road Traffic Authority.

Around 43 per cent of those apprehended for driving under the influence were repeat offenders, according to a June report from the Samsung Traffic Safety Institute.

Measures similar to the one about to be launched in South Korea are already in place in countries such as the United States, Australia and Sweden, where multiple studies have shown that ignition interlocks can slash recidivism by as much as 70 per cent while installed.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reports that US states with mandatory interlock laws for DUI reoffenders had 26 per cent fewer alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes between 2001 and 2019.

The legislation enabling the policy in South Korea was passed by the parliament in October 2023 after a 2½-year delay.

It is the latest in a string of measures the country has implemented to deter drink driving, which have had a mixed track record of success.

In December 2018, the parliament passed amendments to the Additional Punishment Act on Specific Crimes, imposing stricter penalties for drink driving.

The legislation, known as the Yoon Chang Ho Act, was named after the victim of a DUI accident and increased the maximum prison sentence for repeat offenders to five years, up from one to three years previously.

However, the Constitutional Court ruled the amendment unconstitutional on three separate occasions between November 2021 and August 2022, citing disproportionate punishment for repeat offences. THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK