Park Soon-ae, a candidate for deputy prime minister and education minister, was found to be intoxicated, exceeding the standard for license revocation when he was caught driving under the influence in 2001.
According to data submitted by the Supreme Court on the 5th by Democratic Party lawmaker Kwon In-sook, on December 17, 2001, at 11 pm, Park was caught driving under the influence of alcohol on a road in Jung-gu, Seoul.
The blood alcohol concentration was 0.251%, which was 2.5 times higher than the 0.1% standard for license revocation at the time. At the time of the accident, candidate Park was working as an assistant professor in the Department of Public Administration at Soongsil University. In February of the following year, the prosecution briefly indicted candidate Park on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act, and Park disobeyed the fine and requested a formal trial. In September of the same year, the Seoul Central District Court suspended the sentence of a fine of 2.5 million won. It is reported that some pointed out that “the drunk driving history is a problem, but the circumstances in which the sentence has been suspended are also suspect.”
Candidate Park said in an explanation provided by the Ministry of Education’s personnel hearing preparation team that day, “I am deeply reflecting even now, 20 years later.” An official from the Ministry of Education’s personnel hearing preparation team said, “The details of the incident will be revealed at the personnel hearing.”
Correspondent Seyeong Choi seyeong2022@hankyung.com
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