Ulsan City Councilor Caught Drunk Driving Gets 15-Day Suspension; Punishment Draws Controversy

【Financial News, Ulsan = Reporter Choi Soo-sang】 Ulsan City Councilor Kim Dae-young, who was caught driving under the influence, was handed a 15-day suspension from attendance. The ruling camp and progressive bloc have called for tougher disciplinary standards.
On the 19th, Ulsan City Council held the second plenary session of the 268th extraordinary session in its plenary chamber and dealt with the disciplinary motion.
At the Ethics Special Committee meeting held that morning before the plenary session, the penalty for Councilor Kim was set at a 15-day suspension from attendance.
At the subsequent plenary session, the council followed its rules by asking relevant public officials and gallery attendees to leave and deliberating behind closed doors. It then switched to an open session and announced the voting results.
On the motion for a 15-day suspension from attendance, 15 of the 19 members present voted in favor, three abstained and one voted against. The penalty was approved as decided by the Ethics Special Committee. The dissenting vote was reportedly cast by Progressive Party Councilor Lee Eun-ju.
Earlier, at around 9:30 p.m. on the 23rd of last month, Councilor Kim was caught by police during a drunk-driving crackdown while driving under the influence on a road in Ulsan’s Dong District. Kim’s blood alcohol concentration was at a level that would warrant revocation of a driver’s license. Kim later left the People Power Party and resigned from all positions held in the council.
In response to the disciplinary decision, the Ulsan City Chapter of the Democratic Party of Korea issued a statement expressing regret over “a decision that treats a serious crime by a public official lightly.” It criticized the Ethics Special Committee, dominated by the People Power Party, for voting to lower the penalty to “15 days,” despite the city council’s Ethics Review Advisory Committee recommending “a 30-day suspension from attendance.”
It added, “The city council, which should set strict moral standards, has issued itself a pardon and completely deceived the people of Ulsan. The council should immediately work across party lines to raise its own drunk-driving disciplinary standard to expulsion.”
The Ulsan City Chapter of the Progressive Party also said in a commentary, “The maximum suspension from attendance that Ulsan City Council can impose is 30 days, yet even this has resulted in a slap-on-the-wrist penalty. In just 15 days, Councilor Kim will return to the council and take part in the Ulsan city government’s administrative audit.” It criticized the outcome, saying, “A city councilor who drove drunk will end up questioning the use of citizens’ tax money and the accountability of the administration.”
It also noted that councils in other regions, including Daegu, allow the expulsion of councilors who repeatedly drive under the influence, and called for barring Councilor Kim Dae-young from the administrative audit, reviewing the disciplinary decision again, and revising the standards to allow expulsion.
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