Road near Yeongdeungpo Park, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. A police officer holding a light baton is stopping a white Mercedes-Benz sedan. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Police Agency is pushing for an amendment to the "Yoon Chang-ho Act" (Article 148-2, Paragraph 1 of the Road Traffic Act), which imposes aggravated punishment on individuals who have committed drunk driving or refused a breathalyzer test more than twice. This move comes after the Constitutional Court ruled the Yoon Chang-ho Act unconstitutional, and the amendment is expected to be enacted as early as this year.
According to the police on the 10th, the National Police Agency submitted opinions on a revised bill to the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's expert office. The bill maintains the current level of punishment but specifies that it applies to those who have been sentenced to a fine or higher for drunk driving or refusal of a breathalyzer test and then violate the law again within 10 years after the sentence is finalized. This amendment was proposed by multiple lawmakers from the Public Administration and Security Committee, including Ha Tae-kyung of the People Power Party, following the Constitutional Court's first ruling of unconstitutionality on the Yoon Chang-ho Act in November last year.
The original Yoon Chang-ho Act stipulated that anyone who commits drunk driving or refuses a breathalyzer test twice or more, without any time limit, would face aggravated punishment of 2 to 5 years imprisonment or a fine ranging from 10 million to 20 million KRW. The Constitutional Court ruled this unconstitutional, stating that imposing excessively severe penalties without considering the type of prior offenses or any time restrictions violates the principle of proportionality between responsibility and punishment.
Subsequently, in May and August, the Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional the aggravated punishment clauses in cases where a person with a history of drunk driving refuses a breathalyzer test, or a person with a history of refusal commits drunk driving, while assessing individual cases. A police official stated, "Since this clause has already been ruled unconstitutional, it needs to be promptly revised," adding, "Although the amendment bill was submitted to the Public Administration and Security Committee, it was not passed due to parliamentary circumstances, but it is expected to be processed during this regular session of the National Assembly."
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