'License Cancellation Level' Drunk Driving Official Acquitted... "Used Oral Spray"

"Cannot Rule Out the Influence of Throat Spray Applied Just Before Alcohol Measurement"

Drunk driving crackdown. Not related to the article. /Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] A current public official who was caught driving under the influence was brought to trial but was acquitted.

The Incheon District Court Criminal Division 1 (Judge Kim Eun-yeop) announced on the 20th that it had acquitted public official A (44), who was indicted on charges of drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act.

A is accused of driving a vehicle for about 500 meters in a drunken state on a road in front of a market in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, at around 11:33 p.m. on October 22 last year. At the time, he noticed police officers conducting a crackdown, changed the direction of his vehicle, and fled the scene but was soon caught.

A claimed, "I was looking around because there was no suitable place to park," but the breathalyzer test showed his blood alcohol concentration was 0.04%, the level for license suspension.

In court, A testified, "At around 7 p.m. on that day (during the first round of company dinner), I drank one glass mixing soju and beer, and at around 10 p.m. (during the second round), I drank another glass of beer." However, he argued, "The throat spray I sprayed in my mouth right before the breath test contained alcohol, so the measured level was higher than my actual drinking amount."

He explained that he had been using a throat spray containing anti-inflammatory ingredients due to chronic bronchitis and chronic allergic rhinitis.

The court stated, "There is suspicion that the defendant drove after drinking enough alcohol to be punishable under the Road Traffic Act," but also explained that the influence of the throat spray sprayed in the mouth right before the breath test could not be ruled out.

Furthermore, the court said, "The one glass of mixed soju and beer consumed during the first round of company dinner would not have affected the blood alcohol concentration measured four hours later," and "Applying the Widmark formula based on the one glass of beer consumed at the second round venue, the maximum blood alcohol concentration would be 0.013%, which does not reach the actual measured level." The Widmark formula is an investigative technique that retrospectively estimates blood alcohol concentration over time by considering the alcohol concentration of the drink, amount consumed, body weight, gender, and other factors.

It added, "Even if the mouth is rinsed with water after spraying the throat spray, residual alcohol remaining in the oral cavity may affect the breath test results," and "It is insufficient to recognize that it has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant drove while intoxicated above the punishment threshold," explaining the sentencing rationale.