Chinese national to be deported for drunk driving conviction

The Ulsan District Court ruled Monday that the deportation of a Chinese national convicted of drunk driving is a fair punishment. The Chinese man, who is in his 40s, was arrested in July 2021 for driving under the influence on a road ...

Ulsan District Court [YONHAP]

The Ulsan District Court ruled Monday that the deportation of a Chinese national convicted of drunk driving is a fair punishment.

The Chinese man, who is in his 40s, was arrested in July 2021 for driving under the influence on a road in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang. He was also involved in a car crash at the time.

His blood alcohol concentration was 0.183 percent, high enough for authorities to legally revoke his license.

The man was convicted and given a suspended sentence of one year in prison. Then the immigration office decided to deport him.

Saying the decision was too harsh, he filed a lawsuit with his local court in Ulsan challenging the deportation, saying the immigration office made a procedural error and abused its power.

“No clear reasons for the decision were mentioned and the decision is way too harsh for a person who had lived in Korea for almost 20 years without violating major laws,” the man's suit said.

The Chinese national came to Korea in March 2006 on a short-term visa and was given an F-4 overseas Korean visa in February 2013.

The company that employs him filed a petition supporting his case, but the court decided against him.

“There weren’t any procedural errors since the immigration office had notified the man regarding deportation in advance,” the court said in its ruling Monday.

He apparently had been convicted of drunk driving in Korea in the past.

“The plaintiff has little will to abide by the Korean law as he already has a drunk driving record in the past, his blood alcohol concentration was very high at the time and he caused a car accident.”

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, HA SU-YOUNG [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]