Soju. Photo not directly related to the article. [Yonhap]
Soju. Photo not directly related to the article. [Yonhap]

A man in his 70s who registered a blood alcohol level above the license-revocation threshold after a traffic accident has been acquitted of drunk driving charges.

Judge Ha Seok-chan of the Namyangju Branch of Uijeongbu District Court acquitted the defendant, identified only as A, 71, who had been indicted on drunk driving charges, according to legal sources Tuesday.

A was charged with driving approximately 100 meters while intoxicated on a road in Hwado-eup, Namyangju, at around 6:10 p.m. on Nov. 6 last year.

His vehicle veered off the road and fell into a nearby stream. Police who responded to the scene measured his blood alcohol concentration at 0.115 percent — above the 0.08 percent threshold for license revocation.

A maintained that he had not been drinking at the time of the accident, saying he consumed a bottle of soju from his vehicle afterward to ward off hypothermia.

Prosecutors argued the claim was implausible, pointing to CCTV footage from the day of the accident that showed A staggering before getting into his vehicle.

The court ruled that the CCTV footage alone was insufficient to conclude that A had been drunk. While the footage showed him staggering, it did not capture him drinking before the incident.

Witness testimony at trial also worked in A's favor. One witness said A "was able to communicate normally and did not seem like someone who was drunk."

"It is true that there is a strong suspicion that the defendant caused the accident while driving under the influence," the court said in its ruling, "but it is difficult to conclude that the facts alleged in the indictment have been proven based solely on the evidence submitted by the prosecution."


bbo@heraldcorp.com