Man who chugged soju to foil breathalyzer gets suspended sentence

A man in his 40s who got into a dispute with a neighbor over parking has ended up with a criminal record — not over the parking quarrel, but for drinking alcohol to skew a sobriety test. After being suspected of drunk driving during the altercation, he downed a bottle of soju before police arrived in a bid to muddy the results, a tactic known in Korea as "sul-tagi," or alcohol dilution. He was ultimately handed a suspended prison sentence.

Judge Song In-cheol of the Ulsan District Court's Criminal Division 9 sentenced the man, identified only as A, to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years, on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act by obstructing a breathalyzer test, Yonhap reported. The court also ordered him to complete 80 hours of community service and attend 40 hours of safe-driving lectures.

In December last year, A was involved in a verbal dispute over parking in the lot of a studio apartment building in Ulsan's Nam-gu. The other driver, identified as B, suspected A of drunk driving after detecting the smell of alcohol.

When B threatened to call 112, the emergency number, A got back into his vehicle and drank an entire bottle of soju.

The court found that "there was considerable reason to believe the defendant was in a state of intoxication, and that he consumed additional alcohol with the intent to obstruct a police officer's breathalyzer test," adding that "punishment equivalent to that for drunk driving is warranted."

The court said it also took into account that A acknowledged the offense and showed remorse, and that more than nine years had passed since he was last punished for drunk driving.