Teacher Causes Serious Injuries to Two Teenagers in Drunk Driving Collision

Chungnam Office of Education "Will Proceed with Disciplinary Procedures When Auditor Requests Disciplinary Resolution"

On the 28th, military and police jointly conducted a morning drunk driving crackdown in front of the Capital Defense Command in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

A teacher in the Chungnam region was recently revealed to have hit two teenagers while driving under the influence.

According to the police and the education office on the 30th, Mr. A, a teacher at a high school in Chungnam, hit two teenagers crossing a crosswalk while driving under the influence in Daejeon around 8 p.m. on January 9.

As a result of the accident, the two teenagers, who are biological sisters, were injured and transferred to a hospital where they received treatment for over two months.

At the time of the accident, Mr. A's blood alcohol concentration was 0.181%, exceeding the license cancellation limit.

The police notified the Chungnam Office of Education to start an investigation on the 7th of last month, two months later, following a request from the parents to postpone the investigation so that the victims could receive treatment. After investigating the victims, the case was sent to the prosecution. The prosecution notified the Chungnam Office of Education of Mr. A's indictment on the 29th of last month.

Under current law, disciplinary action must be decided within one month of notification to the investigative agency, but the provincial education office has not yet taken any action against Mr. A, who is currently understood to still be working at the school.

A representative from the provincial education office stated, "Although Mr. A's charges fall under grounds for suspension as specified by law, not all cases result in suspension. In this case, the teacher is assigned to duties that cannot be replaced, so immediate suspension was not implemented."

They added, "The audit office is currently collecting materials to request disciplinary action, and once the auditor requests a disciplinary decision, a disciplinary committee will be convened to proceed with the disciplinary process."