Since implementing various road safety measures, Korea’s rate of road traffic deaths has been decreasing since the early 2000s. Risky driving behavior, however, including drunk driving, continues to cause traffic-related injuries and deaths each year.
Prior to 2018, having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05% or higher constituted a drunk driving offense. This changed following the death of 22-year-old Yoon Chang Ho.
Yoon Chang Ho was a soldier serving in the Korean Augmentation Troops to the United States Army. On September 25, 2018, Yoon and a friend were hit by a drunk driver while driving together in Busan. This occurred during Korea’s Chuseok holiday, when the soldiers were on leave.
The 26-year-old drunk driver, surnamed Park, had a BAC of 0.181%, exceeding the legal limit. People with a BAC in the 0.16%-0.19% range can experience depressive effects (such as depression, anxiety, and unease) in addition to disorientation, dizziness, motor impairment, blurred vision, and impaired judgment.
At the time of the accident, Yoon lost consciousness. He died after spending 46 days on life support and being pronounced brain dead. Around 200 people attended Yoon’s funeral, held in the Armed Forces Busan Hospital, and he was enshrined in Daejeon Memorial Park.
It is sad that I have to send him off like this. His death sounds an alarm bell in our society. Politicians must pass a ‘Yoon Chang-ho Act’ to make sure such an unfortunate event does not occur again.
— Yoon Ki Hyun, Yoon Chang Ho’s father
Following his death, Yoon’s family, friends, the public, and members of the government called for stricter drunk driving laws to prevent future tragedies.
Drunk driving incidents were often perceived as accidents, caused without an intention to harm. But Yoon’s friends let us know that it should not be perceived that way.
— Representative Ha
In December 2018, Korea’s National Assembly enacted the Yoon Chang Ho Act, which imposed stricter standards and penalties for drunk driving. This included lowering the BAC from 0.05% to 0.03% and extending the maximum prison sentence for a death caused by DUI to a life sentence.
Park was sentenced to six years in prison.
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