Marine Corps Non-Commissioned Officer Who Caused Chuseok Reverse Driving Disaster, Drunk Driving at Level of ‘License Revocation’ |

It has been confirmed that the driver responsible for the accident in Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do, which resulted in seven casualties, including two deaths, on the day before Chuseok, was intoxicated to the point of having his license revoked.

According to the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency on the 24th, the National Institute of Scientific Investigation’s blood test results on the driver, Marine Corps Non-Commissioned Officer Yeom (23), confirmed that his blood alcohol concentration level was high enough for license revocation (over 0.08%). At around 1:27 am on the 16th, Yeom was driving a Seltos sports utility vehicle (SUV) in reverse on National Road No. 38 in Yeongwol-gun, Yeongwol 2 Tunnel (Taebaek direction), when he crashed head-on into an oncoming Carnival passenger vehicle. In this accident, Yeom and the Carnival driver, Lee (34), died, and five people, including Lee’s wife, two children aged 3 and 5, and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, were seriously injured.

The police checked the black box and other information and found that Mr. Yeom entered the Dongyeongwol intersection in the opposite direction and drove in the opposite direction for approximately 4 km to the scene of the accident. There was even a sign at the Dongyeongwol intersection to prevent reverse driving, but Mr. Yeom’s car passed it. At the time, Mr. Yeom was on vacation and was reportedly out drinking with friends before the accident. The police plan to transfer the case to the military police as soon as the investigation is concluded. Since the perpetrator, Mr. Yeom, has died, the case is expected to be closed without a public prosecution.