Jeju police dept. offers rewards to those reporting drunk driving

“A car in front of us is crossing the median. This might cause a big accident.”

A 19-year-old woman on Jeju Island urgently told this to police over the phone while in a car that her brother was driving after finishing working at a restaurant at 1:14 a.m. Jan. 11. While police rushed to the scene, the car in front of them hit a vehicle parked on the roadside and stopped.

Nobody was hurt, but the suspect car`s driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.104 percent, a level that warrants suspension of a driver’s license.

Jeju police gave the caller a reward of 300,000 won (281 U.S. dollars). “I don’t want to imagine what would`ve happened if a pedestrian had been there. I called the police to prevent an accident. I didn`t expect to get a reward for that, “ said the woman

Jeju law on the protection of and rewards for those reporting crimes allow the reward. Police have generally given rewards to those who report crimes such as robbery and theft, but not to those who warn of drivers who could be under the influence of alcohol.

DUI reporters are not eligible to receive cash rewards, but Jeju police applied a provision saying “in case which the Chief of Police Agency or the Chief of Local Police Agency recognizes exceptionally.” So those who report drivers who could be drunk can get rewards only in Jeju.

Jeju police began the reward system for reporting driving under the influence from November last year. Drunk driving is considered a crime like robbery or assault because the driver can hurt himself or herself as well as others.

“Police cannot root out drunk driving alone. All residents should share the perception that drunk driving is a public enemy that threatens everyone`s life. To efficiently manage rewards for reporting crime, I`ve allowed rewards to go to those who report drunk driving to police,” said Jang Jeon-bae, chief of the Jeju Provincial Police Agency.

jy788@donga.com