Year-end parties and gatherings might fill your calendar this month.
During the year-end season, the local police are intensifying its efforts to crack down on drunk driving and the punishment for drunk driving has been toughened.
Joseph Kim reports.

[slug] Yeonsam-ro, Jeju City
A police unit is conducting field sobriety tests on (연삼로) Yeonsam-ro, Jeju City.
Within a few minutes, a male driver is caught for drunk driving.

Recording
Policeman
0.105%. It’s 9 PM. Your driver’s license is subject to revocation.
<싱크 : 경찰관>
"0.105. 21시. 면허 취소 수치입니다."

[slug] Licence revocation blood alcohol level=0.08%
The violator claims that he only had four glasses of (소주) soju and two glasses of beer.
The level of blood alcohol is 0.105 percent. That exceeds the legal limit for license revocation.

Offender
(Police: When did you drink?) … (Police: When?) ...
<싱크 : 음주운전 적발자>
"(술 마신지 어느 정도 되셨습니까?) … (예?) … ."

[slug] Yeonbuk-ro, Jeju City
The police unit moves to another place for field sobriety tests.
Soon, another drunk driver is caught.

[slug] Licence suspension blood alcohol level=0.03%
The blood alcohol level of the offender is 0.033 percent. He doesn’t admit he did violated laws.

Recording
Offender
I’ll admit it’s my fault if the blood level exceeds 0.05%. (Police: The license suspension limit has been lowered to 0.03%. I cannot let you go.) But..
<싱크 : 음주운전 적발자>
"0.05 이상 넘었으면 제가 인정하고 조사받겠습니다. 거짓말 안 하고.
(근데 이제 법이 0.030으로 바뀌었는데 어떡해요.) (제가 선생님을 봐 드릴 수도 없잖아요.) 그러니까…."

[slug] 2 licenses revoked, 1 suspended
On that day, the police unit spotted three offenders driving while intoxicated.
Two licenses were revoked and one was suspended.
A traffic law was revised in June to toughen the punishment for drunk driving, but still some get behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol.


Under the revised traffic law, the police lowered the legal limit of drivers' blood-alcohol level to 0.03 percent from 0.05 percent for license suspension.
The limit for license revocation has been lowered to 0.08 percent from 0.1 percent.

Blood Alcohol Level for Punishment
Before revision Now

License suspension 0.05~less than 0.1% 0.03~0.08%
License revocation 0.1%~ 0.08%~



The number of cases of driving under the influence of alcohol had fallen right after the revised traffic law came into effect in June.
However, the number has been on the rise since July.

Number of Cases of Drunk Driving Caught

2019
2018

372, 111 270, 151 209, 164 172, 175 169, 165 199, 171
June July August September October November


Some drivers mistakenly believe that light drinking would not be an offence.

INTERVIEW
Oh Gyeong-jin / Jeju Provincial Police
Right after the revised traffic law, dubbed the Yoon Chang-ho law, came into effect, the number of cases of drunk driving plunged. But the number is on the rise again.
<인터뷰 : 오경진 / 제주자치경찰단 교통생활안전과 경위>
"윤창호법이 시행된 바로 직후에는 많은 분들이 단속이 강화된 걸 알아서 (음주운전을) 많이 자제하는 편이였지만 요즘 들어서는 예전 같이 많이 하지는 않지만 꾸준히 음주 운전하는 분들이 늘어나고 있는 추세입니다."

[Reporter] Joseph Kim
[Camera] Kim Seung-cheol
[CG] Park Hye-jin

The police say that year-end crackdowns on drunk driving will be frequently conducted late at night and early in the morning near bars.

Joseph Kim, KCTV