At 10:52 p.m. on the 5th near Suyu Station in Gangbuk District, Seoul. People riding a motorcycle were caught by police conducting a drunken driving checkpoint. The driver wore a helmet, but the driver's younger sibling sitting in the back did not.
The driver, a person surnamed Kim (21) who was doing a delivery part-time job, was found to be unlicensed. There was already a record of having been investigated by police once for unlicensed driving. Kim muttered, "They don't usually do checkpoints here." Kim's younger sibling in the back also said, "You don't go to 'prison' for unlicensed driving anyway, so please wrap it up quickly."
The Korean National Police Agency launched year-end and New Year drunken driving checkpoints and, on the first Friday, the 5th night, began simultaneous checkpoints nationwide. December is the month with the most drunken driving crashes of the year. Among them, crashes frequently occurred after 10 p.m. on Fridays. That is why police carried out large-scale checkpoints.
From 10 p.m. to midnight that day, we accompanied drunken driving checkpoints in three areas of Seoul. There were no drunken drivers. It is believed that, due to the snow during the previous evening rush hour that caused a commuting meltdown, many drivers tried to get home as early as possible.
However, there were not few cases where the breath tester showed a "red light." It means drunken driving was suspected. After rinsing the mouth with water and testing again, most turned to a "green light." They said the breath tester often reacts not only to alcohol but also to vitamin drinks or cold medicine.
Around 11 p.m. that day near Jamsil Bridge in Gwangjin District, Seoul, on the Gangbyeonbuk-ro drunken driving checkpoint, the culprit that triggered the breath tester for driver Choi Se-hwan (54) was "windshield washer fluid." Choi said, "I didn't even touch alcohol, so I was startled," but added, "Drunken driving checkpoints during the year-end and New Year are natural, and if caught, I think there must be strong punishment."
At other drunken driving checkpoint zones, the breath tester often went off because of windshield washer fluid. Sergeant Lee Byung-heon of the Gangbuk Police Station Traffic Safety Division said, "It seems like the breath tester is going off due to windshield washer fluid three to four times more than usual," adding, "It seems to be because of the heavy snow."
Most drivers cooperated with the breath test, but some raised their voices if traffic backed up even a little. During a drunken driving checkpoint near Suyu Station, a taxi driver carrying two passengers shouted at police, saying, "Why are you making traffic jam up?"
Team leader Choi Woo-sung of the Gangbuk Police Station Traffic Safety Division's Field Team 2 said, "People who only complain verbally are yakgwa by comparison," adding, "Commercial vehicle drivers tend to be more sensitive to checkpoints."
Because they must also respond to other traffic police duties, they had to move if a crash occurred during a checkpoint. Officers from the Dongjak Police Station began a drunken driving checkpoint at 9:50 p.m. that day in front of the Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market in Dongjak District, Seoul. But upon hearing that debris had fallen on Olympic-daero, they headed to the scene after 45 minutes.
Police will conduct a special crackdown for two months until Jan. 31, 2026. They will run simultaneous nationwide checkpoints every Friday, and each city and provincial police agency will conduct coordinated crackdowns at least twice a week. By region, they will also conduct preventive checkpoints during morning commute and lunchtime for hangover and mealtime drinking driving.
Depending on blood alcohol concentration, drunken drivers face license revocation and demerit points as well as criminal penalties. With a blood alcohol concentration of 0.2% or higher, they can face imprisonment of at least two years and up to five years or a fine of at least 10 million won and up to 20 million won. If a crash occurs while drunken driving, penalties are aggravated under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes for dangerous driving causing death or injury. In fatal crashes, a life sentence can be imposed.
An official at the Korean National Police Agency said, "We hope there will be no drunken driving while swept up in the festive year-end and New Year mood."