[Exclusive] Choi Gyojin Was Heavily Intoxicated During Drunk Driving Incident... 0.187% at License Revocation Level

Heavily Intoxicated at the Time of 2003 Drunk Driving Incident
Kim Minjeon: "Driving at License Revocation Level...
A Serious Moral Flaw"

It has been revealed that Choi Gyojin, the nominee for Minister of Education, who previously received a fine for drunk driving, had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.187% at the time, which was above the license revocation threshold under the standards in effect then.

Yonhap News

According to data provided by the National Police Agency to the office of Assemblywoman Kim Minjeon, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee, on August 29, Choi was caught violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving) on October 17, 2003.

At the time of the incident, Choi's blood alcohol concentration was confirmed to be 0.187%, indicating he was heavily intoxicated. Previously, when asked about Choi's blood alcohol level at the time, the National Police Agency responded, "We cannot provide the blood alcohol concentration at the time of the incident as it may infringe on the individual's privacy or freedom." After criticism over the decision not to disclose the blood alcohol level, the information appears to have been released upon a renewed request ahead of the confirmation hearing.

Choi was caught by police for drunk driving at 1:44 a.m. on a road in Yongmun-dong, Daejeon. This was a drunk driving incident without a traffic accident, and there were no victims.

Blood alcohol concentration is a standard for determining drunk driving. Under the current Road Traffic Act, the threshold is 0.03%, while in 2003, when Choi committed the offense, it was considered drunk driving if the level was 0.05% or higher.

In 2022, Park Sunae, then nominee for Minister of Education, was embroiled in controversy over a previous drunk driving record. The Supreme Court confirmed that Park's blood alcohol concentration at the time of her offense was 0.251%.

On June 14, 2022, the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) issued a joint statement with other teachers' organizations, saying, "Park Sunae was referred to trial in December 2001 for driving in a virtually intoxicated state with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.251%, which is 2.5 times higher than the 0.1% license revocation threshold at the time, and received a suspended sentence. According to the disciplinary standards for drunk driving in the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Disciplinary Decree, Park's blood alcohol concentration at the time could warrant dismissal," they criticized.

Assemblywoman Kim stated, "The Minister of Education is a position that must teach students about lawfulness and responsibility, but the fact that Choi was caught drunk driving at a level warranting license revocation is a serious moral flaw."