Sinan-gun Bold Public Official, Repeatedly Caught Drunk Driving Despite COVID-19 Emergency

Audit Department Staff Supervising Employee Conduct Caught Drunk Driving 'Absurd'... Public Service Discipline Hits Rock Bottom

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] While local governments nationwide are not letting their guard down against COVID-19, some irresponsible public officials in Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do, have been repeatedly caught driving under the influence, drawing criticism.

According to the county on the 21st, Mr. A, a grade 6 employee at Sinan-gun Office, was caught by police conducting a DUI checkpoint while driving his own vehicle after drinking on the afternoon of the 19th of last month.

At the time, Mr. A's blood alcohol level was found to be at a level warranting license cancellation.

After being caught for drunk driving, Mr. A reported the incident directly to the county, and Sinan-gun immediately carried out a disciplinary transfer.

Mr. A said, "After drinking, I called a designated driver, but the driver could not find the location, so I took the wheel to move the car a little. I apologize for causing trouble due to my poor judgment."

The absurd part is that Mr. A is an audit department employee responsible for inspecting misconduct among Sinan-gun Office staff.

Earlier, in December last year, another employee, Mr. B, was caught driving under the influence and was transferred on the 1st of this month.

In this regard, voices from inside and outside the region are rising, saying that the public service discipline has not only become lax but has gone beyond acceptable limits.

Internal regulations on personnel management in Sinan-gun stipulate that employees who commit crimes such as drunk driving or sexual offenses shall be subject to demotion transfers.

A Sinan-gun official said, "Despite the emergency situation caused by COVID-19, the laxity of public officials' discipline is going beyond limits," adding, "In cases of drunk driving and sexual offenses, there is no mitigation, and a zero-tolerance principle is applied to take strict action."