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If your driver’s license has been suspended or revoked due to DUI in Korea, you may file an objection with the competent metropolitan or provincial police agency within 60 days from the date you receive the disposition.

One of the grounds for reduction is when driving is an essential means of supporting the applicant’s family. In practice, this is often referred to as a “livelihood-based objection.”

However, even if driving is important for your work or livelihood, certain circumstances may exclude you from reduction from the outset.

This article explains the legal basis of the livelihood-based objection and the key situations where a reduction may not be available.
 

Legal Basis and Possible Effect of an Objection

An objection against a driver’s license suspension or revocation due to DUI is based on Article 94 of the Korean Road Traffic Act and Articles 95 and 96 of the Enforcement Rule of the Road Traffic Act.

The objection must be filed within 60 days from the date the disposition is received.

Once filed, the case is reviewed by the Administrative Review Committee for Driver’s License Dispositions, which may decide whether the disposition can be reduced.

The Enforcement Rule sets out several grounds for reduction. One of the most commonly used grounds is where driving is an essential means of maintaining the livelihood of the applicant’s family.

If this ground is accepted, a license revocation may be reduced to a 110-day license suspension.

A license suspension may also be reduced by up to one-half of the original suspension period.
 

When Reduction May Be Excluded

Before reviewing whether driving is necessary for livelihood, the authorities first check whether any exclusion grounds apply.

Reduction may be excluded in the following cases:

▪️Blood alcohol concentration over 0.1%
If the driver’s BAC exceeded 0.1% at the time of detection.

▪️Traffic accident involving personal injury
If the DUI resulted in an accident where another person was injured.

▪️Refusal to take a breathalyzer test, fleeing the scene, or assaulting a police officer
If the driver refused testing, fled, or used violence against an officer during enforcement.

▪️Repeated personal injury accidents within the past five years
If the driver caused three or more traffic accidents involving personal injury within the past five years.

▪️Prior DUI record within the past five years
If the driver has a previous DUI record within the past five years.

Source: Appendix 28 of the Enforcement Rule of the Road Traffic Act

These grounds apply independently.

This means that even one applicable ground may exclude the applicant from reduction, regardless of how important driving is for work or family livelihood.

Even a first-time DUI offender may be excluded if the BAC level exceeds the applicable threshold or if a personal injury accident occurred.

What to Check Before Filing an Objection

Before preparing a livelihood-based objection, it is important to review the following points in order.

First, check the BAC level at the time of detection.
If it exceeded 0.1%, reduction may be excluded.

Second, check whether there was any accident, refusal to take a breathalyzer test, fleeing, or other aggravating circumstance.

Third, if no exclusion ground applies, prepare documents showing that driving is necessary for maintaining livelihood. These may include an employment certificate, business registration certificate, client or delivery records, income documents, and other materials showing that driving is essential for work.

If an objection is filed only with a statement of hardship, without first checking the exclusion grounds, the 60-day filing period may be used up without meaningful review.
 

How Decent Law Firm Can Assist

In livelihood-based DUI objections, the possibility of reduction does not depend only on whether the applicant is a first-time offender.

BAC level, accident history, refusal to comply with testing, and prior DUI records are critical factors that determine whether reduction may be available at all.

Decent Law Firm’s criminal defense team reviews DUI-related administrative dispositions, including objections and administrative appeals, from the initial stage.

If you have received notice of license suspension or revocation in Korea, it is important to review your eligibility before the 60-day deadline expires.