167 Cases of Drunk Driving by National University Faculty and Staff in 5 Years... Disciplinary Actions Vary Widely

Around 30 Disciplinary Actions Annually Over the Past Five Years
"Inconsistent Disciplinary Levels... Standardized Guidelines Needed"

Police are conducting a drunk driving crackdown near an elementary school in Seoul. This is unrelated to the article content.

It has been found that disciplinary actions for drunk driving by faculty and staff at national universities across the country have hovered around 30 cases annually. Although disciplinary standards are set according to blood alcohol concentration and the number of violations, there are significant discrepancies in the penalties imposed depending on the university and the position of the staff, prompting calls for institutional reform.

On October 10, Kang Kyungsook, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the Innovation Party for the Motherland, disclosed this information based on data submitted by 38 national universities nationwide.

According to the data, from 2020 to August 2025, there were a total of 167 disciplinary cases for drunk driving involving professors and staff. By year, there were 40 cases in 2020, 27 in 2021, 31 in 2022, 36 in 2023, and 33 in 2024, consistently resulting in around 30 cases of disciplinary action each year.

By university, Jeonbuk National University had the highest number with 17 cases, followed by Seoul National University with 15, Chonnam National University with 14, and Kangwon National University and Gyeongsang National University with 12 cases each. In national universities in the Busan region (Busan National University, Pukyong National University, Korea Maritime & Ocean University, and Busan National University of Education), 16 people were disciplined for drunk driving over the past five years, and among them, 12 (75%) were professors or higher.

At Busan National University, a professor caught with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.165% was given a three-month pay cut, while another associate professor, who was also charged with failure to take action after an accident and special injury, received only a one-month suspension. In contrast, in 2021, a professor caught with a blood alcohol level of 0.104% was suspended for one month, and in 2024, a professor with a level of 0.103% received a three-month pay cut, showing that even within the same university, the severity of disciplinary actions was inconsistent.

At Kangwon National University, a staff member with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.096% received a two-month suspension, but in the same month, a professor with a higher level (0.127%) was suspended for only one month. The penalties for repeated drunk driving offenses also varied by university. Korea National University of Education dismissed a professor after two violations, whereas Jinju National University of Education suspended a professor for three months for the same number of offenses.

Experts point out that as faculty and staff are both public officials and leaders of students, they should be held to higher ethical standards than ordinary public servants.

Assemblywoman Kang emphasized, "Drunk driving is not a personal deviation but a matter of public safety," adding, "To correct the inconsistent disciplinary standards across universities, standardized disciplinary guidelines should be established, and fairness and awareness should be enhanced through consistent criteria."