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A story has emerged that a designated driver was drunk while driving, even though the car owner who had been drinking had called for a designated driver, sparking public outrage.

Drunk driving crackdown. This image is provided to help understand the article and is not directly related to the article.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

On the 27th, a post titled "Called a designated driver, but the designated driver was drunk driving" was uploaded to an online community and became a hot topic. The author, Mr. A, began by saying, "Around 4 a.m. today, after having a drink at a friend's house, I called a designated driver to get home."

Mr. A claimed, "While I was on my way home with the designated driver, he kept nagging me with vulgar language like 'Why did you treat such a nice car like XX (a slang term referring to a damaged body part)?' and 'There’s a strange noise inside the car.'" The designated driver, Mr. B, kept scolding Mr. A. In response, Mr. A said, "I didn’t call you to be nagged. Just drive properly." Upon hearing this, Mr. B suddenly stopped the car on a nearby road and said, "Get out for a moment," then ironically called the police saying, "I can’t communicate with the person who called the designated driver, please come quickly."

The police who responded to the call tried to resolve the incident amicably. However, Mr. B had different intentions. He suddenly took Mr. A’s car and fled. The police caught Mr. B and conducted a drunk driving test, which showed his blood alcohol concentration was 0.217%. Under current law, a blood alcohol concentration of 0.2% or higher is punishable by imprisonment of 2 to 5 years or a fine of 10 million to 20 million KRW, and the driver’s license is revoked (disqualification period of 1 year).

Afterwards, Mr. A called another designated driver and returned home, but about two hours later, he began receiving threatening texts from Mr. B, saying things like "I will destroy your car." Feeling anxious, Mr. A went to the parking lot in front of his house and found that the side mirror and turn signal lever were actually damaged, and items inside the car such as the Hi-Pass device, sneakers, and black box were thrown outside.

Mr. A said, "I immediately reported to the police, and Mr. B was arrested again on the spot." He added, "The police said Mr. B is a credit defaulter and is currently in detention for causing a disturbance." He continued, "The police told me to contact the designated driver company for compensation for the vehicle damage, but they said Mr. B is not their affiliated driver and refused to compensate. They said the only option is a civil lawsuit. I think the company that dispatched the drunk designated driver is also at fault. I’m really wondering if there is no other way besides a civil lawsuit."

Netizens who read the story responded with comments such as, "The designated driver should have called a designated driver himself," "It’s ironic that the victim has to file a lawsuit," "At least apologize," "If he’s not affiliated with the company, how did they dispatch him?" and "How could he try to drive as a designated driver with a blood alcohol concentration over 0.2%?"

Drunk driving crackdown. This image is provided to help understand the article and is not directly related to the article.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Previously, in May last year, a story also went viral about a designated driver who was found to be heavily intoxicated. At that time, the designated driver Mr. C’s blood alcohol concentration was at the license cancellation level of 0.08% or higher, and he was arrested on the spot for violating the Road Traffic Act and drunk driving. In 2020, a designated driver who was driving a customer while intoxicated was also caught by police enforcement.