3-Line Summary
- License suspension due to drunk driving is also eligible for livelihood-based reduction. Attached Table 28 of the “Enforcement Rule of the Road Traffic Act” stipulates that reduction is applicable not only when a license is revoked due to drunk driving but also when a suspension is imposed, in which case the suspension period is reduced by half.
- There are three requirements. Driving must be an essential means of supporting the family’s livelihood, there must be no grounds for exclusion such as a BAC exceeding 0.1%, accidents involving personal injury, refusal to take a breathalyzer test, hit-and-run, or a drunk driving record within the last 5 years, and an objection must be filed with the Commissioner of the Provincial/Metropolitan Police Agency having jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence within 60 days from the date the disposition was received.
- Filing an objection does not stop the suspension from being executed. Since the reduction in days becomes meaningless if the suspension is delayed, documents must be prepared and submitted promptly.
Table of Contents
- Why I thought I could just endure the 100-day suspension
- Three requirements for livelihood-based relief
- Does a drunk driving record from 6 years ago fall under the 5-year rule?
- Evidence showing that driving is a means of livelihood
- Why one must hurry with a suspension disposition
- Drafting and submitting the objection
- Deliberation results and administrative appeals within 90 days if dismissed
- Things to check in these circumstances
I am an administrative agent (administrative scrivener) working in Songdo, Incheon. Most consultations regarding relief from drunk driving licenses come from those who have received a revocation disposition. This is because their license disappears entirely, making it an urgent matter. However, the case I am introducing this time was the opposite. Because the disposition was a suspension, the client had actually intended to just let it pass.
1. Why I thought I could just endure the 100-day suspension
The client was a woman in her late 20s who had been working for three years in mobile pet bathing and grooming, traveling to homes with a small 1-ton van equipped with bathing facilities. Inside the vehicle, a water tank, a water heater, and a dryer were fixed in place, and she visited 4 to 5 households a day, five days a week. Since her mother, who ran a grooming salon, had to close the shop due to wrist surgery, a significant portion of the household living expenses had been covered by this work, and there were 18 months of installments remaining on the vehicle.
At the end of August, after drinking at a friend’s birthday gathering and resting for over three hours, she drove her car and was caught in a roadside crackdown on her way home, resulting in a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.058%. Under the “Road Traffic Act,” a BAC between 0.03% and 0.08% is subject to license suspension, and she received a notice of a 100-day suspension with 100 penalty points.
First, she sent a short question via email along with a photo of the notice: “Since it is a suspension and not a revocation, is there anything I can do?”
It had been nine days since she received the notice. In that time, she said she had heard two things: a senior colleague in the same line of work said, “Livelihood-based relief is only for those whose licenses are revoked,” and she saw online posts saying, “If you have a prior drunk driving record, it is impossible.” She had one record of a drunk driving suspension from six years ago. Therefore, she planned to endure the 100 days by hiring an part-time driver.
Both statements were contrary to the facts.
2. Three requirements for livelihood-based relief
Article 94 of the “Road Traffic Act” stipulates that a person who has an objection to a license revocation or suspension disposition may file an objection with the Commissioner of the Provincial/Metropolitan Police Agency within 60 days from the date the disposition was received. The criteria for reduction are found in the “Reduction of Disposition Standards” section of Attached Table 28 of the “Enforcement Rule of the Road Traffic Act.” This section includes cases where a driver’s license is revoked or suspended due to drunk driving. This means suspension is also eligible for reduction.
The requirements can be broken down into three parts:
① There must be grounds for reduction Driving must be an essential means of supporting the family’s livelihood. Cases such as serving as a model driver for more than three years or receiving an award for apprehending a driver who fled after causing a traffic accident are also established as grounds for reduction. Simply stating that a car is convenient for commuting is insufficient; one must provide evidence showing that income would be cut off or significantly reduced if they are unable to drive.
② There must be no grounds for exclusion If even one of the following applies, one cannot receive a reduction:
- Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) exceeding 0.1%
- A traffic accident involving personal injury while driving under the influence
- Refusal to comply with a police officer’s request for a breathalyzer test, fleeing, or assaulting a law enforcement officer during a crackdown
- Three or more traffic accidents involving personal injury within the past 5 years
- A drunk driving record within the past 5 years
③ The application must be filed within the deadline An objection must be submitted to the Commissioner of the Provincial/Metropolitan Police Agency having jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence within 60 days from the date the disposition was received. The Driver’s License Administrative Disposition Objection Deliberation Committee deliberates to determine whether to grant a reduction.
If a reduction is granted, a revocation disposition is reduced to a suspension disposition with 110 penalty points, and a suspension disposition is reduced to half of the original execution period. For example, a 100-day suspension would become 50 days.
In this case, the BAC was 0.058%, and there was no accident or refusal to take a breathalyzer test. The remaining issues were the record from six years ago and the proof of livelihood.
3. Does a DUI record from 6 years ago fall under the 5-year rule?
The statement “you must not have a prior record” is only half true. What Annex 28 designates as an exclusion ground is a DUI record within the past 5 years. A record exceeding 5 years is not an exclusion ground. However, according to Annex 28 as amended on August 24, 2026, from February 25, 2027, this standard will change to “DUI records after June 30, 2001.” If a disposition is received after that date, even a record older than 5 years will become an exclusion ground.
The issue was whether the “6 years ago” the client remembered was accurate. It is not uncommon for the date in one’s memory to differ from the actual date on the official record by several months. Therefore, before the scheduled consultation, I asked him to obtain and send his Driving Record Certificate. This is a document that can be issued by the individual through a police station civil service office or via Gov24.
Upon reviewing the certificate, the previous DUI suspension occurred 6 years and 8 months prior to this current crackdown. Whether based on the date of the violation or the date of the disposition, it exceeded 5 years. Using the same certificate, I also checked other items. There was one minor contact accident two years ago, but it was an accident involving only property damage, and there were no accidents involving personal injury.
I also confirmed the senior colleague’s comment that “only the license will be revoked.” The text of Annex 28 explicitly includes suspension dispositions as well.
At this point, the client canceled his interview schedule for a part-time driving position.
4. Evidence showing that driving is a means of livelihood
The Objection Review Committee looks at the fact that one must drive for work, rather than simply hearing the phrase “I need a car.” Therefore, I gathered materials categorized into three directions.
- Evidence that the vehicle is the place of business: Vehicle registration, details of vehicle structural changes made to carry bathing equipment, and photos of the interior equipment of the vehicle. I ensured it was evident that the water tank and water heater could not be moved to another vehicle.
- Evidence that there is no income without driving: Recent 6-month credit card sales statements and reservation logs, business registration certificate, and comprehensive income tax filing data. I extracted the number of households visited per day and the travel distance from the reservation logs and organized them into a table. I also noted that since customer addresses were scattered across Songdo, Yeonsu-dong, and Nonhyeon-dong, equipment could not be moved via public transportation.
- Evidence of connection to family livelihood: Family Relationship Certificate, medical records of his mother’s surgery and proof of business closure, and the vehicle installment repayment schedule.
I added one more thing: a quote for a replacement driver that the client had actually inquired about. The daily wage for a driver was more than half of his daily revenue. This was data that used numbers to show that if he hired a driver during the suspension period, most of his income would disappear even if he continued to work.
There was a small commotion while organizing the reservation log. Instead of customer names, the log only contained dog names, such as “Bori’s place” or “Kong-i’s place.” While looking for contact information to obtain a few confirmation letters from regular customers, we both had a good laugh when we saw that he had even saved his mobile phone contacts under his dogs’ names. I obtained confirmation letters from three households and submitted them with the personal information redacted.
5. Why we must hurry with a suspension disposition
If it is a revocation disposition, it is better to meticulously refine the materials within the 60-day deadline. For a suspension, the situation is different.
Filing an objection does not stop the suspension from being executed. The number of suspension days continues to elapse from the start date of execution written on the notice. If the deliberation result is delayed and 50 days have already passed, even if a decision is made to reduce the suspension from 100 days to 50 days, there will be almost no actual days left to be reduced.
Therefore, for this case, we decided to file as quickly as possible without using the entire 60-day period. I received the Driving Record Certificate and sales data by the day after the consultation, and on the third day, I received the medical records and Family Relationship Certificate. I decided to submit the confirmation letters as supplementary materials after filing, so we proceeded with the filing first. It was the 15th day from the date of notice.
The time it takes for deliberation varies depending on the timing and jurisdiction, so it cannot be guaranteed in advance. However, it is clear that the later you submit, the less practical benefit there is for a reduction. If you have received a suspension disposition, it is advisable to start by counting the days.
I provided one more piece of guidance. If you receive a license suspension due to drunk driving, you must undergo Special Traffic Safety Mandatory Education pursuant to Article 73 of the Road Traffic Act. Since this is a separate obligation from the objection, I scheduled this appointment as well.
6. Preparation and Submission of the Objection Form
The objection form must be prepared by stating the details of the disposition and the grounds for objection on the Objection Form for Driver’s License Disposition (Statutory Form) as prescribed by the “Enforcement Rule of the Road Traffic Act,” and by attaching supporting documents. What our office did in this case was as follows:
- Cross-checked the five grounds for exclusion against the Driver’s Career Certificate and organized them into a table to show that none applied.
- Drafted the Statement of Grounds for Objection in accordance with the mitigation factors in Attachment 28: the circumstances of the crackdown, the reason why driving is a means of livelihood, the reason why there are no alternative means, and a plan to prevent recurrence (the principle of leaving the car behind during social gatherings, setting up designated driver apps).
- Created a one-page summary table of sales and reservation data so that the committee members could immediately see the figures.
- Handled the submission of the objection form and attached documents to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency and submitted additional supplementary materials (customer confirmation letters).
The part we focused on most in the Statement of Grounds for Objection was the distinction between reflection and facts. Rather than writing long emotional pleas, it is easier for the deliberation committee to process information when you use data to show “what happens to this family’s income if this car stops running.” We kept the letter of reflection to one page and filled the rest with facts and numbers.
7. Deliberation Results and Administrative Appeal within 90 Days if Dismissed
The result was notified about a month after submission. The Objection Deliberation Committee accepted the grounds for mitigation, and the 100-day suspension was reduced to 50 days. Because we rushed the submission in this case, the mitigation decision held actual significance within the period of execution. Results vary by case, and there are instances where mitigation is not granted even when the same types of documents are submitted.
We had also pre-determined the next steps in case of a dismissal. Pursuant to Article 94, Paragraph 3 of the “Road Traffic Act,” an administrative appeal can be filed within 90 days from the date of receiving notification of the results of the objection. There is also the option to go straight to an administrative appeal from the beginning without filing an objection. You must file within 90 days from the date you became aware of the disposition, and if there is a concern that the suspension period might end while the deliberation is ongoing, a request for a suspension of execution (stay) should be considered alongside it. In this case, since there were no grounds for exclusion and the livelihood evidence was clear, we chose to file an objection first.
On the day the suspension period ended, the client said they immediately started taking reservations that had been postponed. The first customer was a restaurant listed in the ledger as “Bori-ne.”
8. Things to Check in This Situation
If you have received a notice of driver’s license suspension or revocation due to drunk driving, please check the following first:
- Whether the blood alcohol concentration is 0.1% or lower, and whether there was no personal injury accident, refusal to take a breathalyzer test, or hit-and-run.
- Whether you have checked your history of drunk driving within the last 5 years and the number of personal injury accidents using a Driver’s Career Certificate by date.
- Whether you have sales, ledger, or vehicle data that proves driving is a vital means of livelihood for your family.
- When the 60-day period from the date of receiving the disposition ends, and if it is a suspension, whether several days of execution have already passed.
- Whether you have noted the 90-day deadline for an administrative appeal in preparation for a potential dismissal.
For accurate legal provisions and interpretations, it is necessary to check the National Law Information Center or the relevant Metropolitan/Provincial Police Agency, and the possibility of mitigation may vary by case.
Services of the Administrative Agent Office
Hwang Yunsang Administrative Agent (Administrative Scrivener) Office prepares objection forms and statements of grounds for objection regarding driver’s license revocation or suspension, and handles the submission of livelihood verification materials to the Metropolitan/Provincial Police Agencies. If an objection is dismissed, we provide continuous support, including the preparation and submission of administrative appeal petitions and requests for suspension of execution, as well as the preparation of supplementary written arguments in response to the opponent’s answer. In the previous post, “Driver’s License Revocation Due to Exceeding Penalty Points: 3 Requirements for Livelihood-Based Mitigation,” we covered cases where licenses were revoked due to accumulated penalty points.
This content has been reconstructed for the purpose of understanding and does not relate to any specific person or event.
