Man caught drunk driving in Incheon drove home again after police left scene

A man in his 20s who was caught drunk driving in Incheon drove himself home again after police left the scene, police acknowledged, admitting that their on-site response fell short.

Police at Incheon's Jemulpo Police Station said Wednesday, according to Yonhap, that a vehicle driven by the man, identified only as A, hit another car that was stopped at a traffic light around 10:35 p.m. Sept. 2. The collision occurred on a road near the Seohae intersection in Jemulpo, heading toward the Neunghae interchange.

While processing the accident, police administered a breath test on A and found his blood alcohol concentration high enough to warrant a license revocation. However, officers reportedly withdrew from the scene after completing only a preliminary probe to book him, without taking any further action.

When a driver is caught driving under the influence, police are required to take on-site safety measures to prevent the person from getting behind the wheel again. These measures include calling a designated driver or a family member to take them home, or holding the vehicle's keys at the police station.

Despite this, A was found to have driven himself home again while still intoxicated.

An insurance company employee who came to the scene to process the accident reportedly witnessed A driving again and reported it to police.

Police have booked A on charges of causing injury through dangerous driving under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and are investigating.

"It is true that our handling of the drunk driving case was somewhat inadequate," a police official said. "We have taken measures, including training our officers, to make sure this does not happen again."