Government legislation ministry says bicycle drink-driving fines do not bar discipline

The government legislation ministry said disciplinary committees may still sanction public officials for drink-driving on bicycles or personal mobility devices after they pay traffic fines.

The May 6 interpretation, issued in response to a civil petition, concerns first offenses involving bicycles or personal mobility devices, including electric scooters, and excludes cases in which a traffic accident caused injury or property damage. The disciplinary range extends from a reprimand to a salary reduction, with committees weighing the type and severity of misconduct and the degree of negligence. The rules also require them to consider an official's rank, service record and the effect of the conduct within and outside the public service. Traffic rules impose a 100,000 won fine on a rider of a personal mobility device and a 30,000 won fine on a cyclist caught drink-driving.

The ministry said the disciplinary regulations contain no provision exempting an official from discipline after payment of a traffic fine. A fine is a penalty for a past traffic-law violation, it said, while disciplinary action is an internal-order measure for the public service, with a different purpose, target and legal basis.

An amendment effective Dec. 11, 2024, separated drink-driving on bicycles and personal mobility devices from motor-vehicle offenses. Before the change, bicycle and personal mobility-device cases were subject to the same disciplinary criteria as motor-vehicle drink-driving; the revision set separate standards in line with traffic-law penalty levels. At the time of the revision, Yeon Won-jeong, head of the personnel ministry, said misconduct by public officials, including drug crimes, should be addressed strictly while some excessive standards should be rationally improved.