Police officers check drivers near Wolmido in Jung District, Incheon, during a year-end drunk-driving crackdown on Dec. 11, 2025.YONHAP
A police officer in Incheon who asked a drunk-driving suspect for cash and a bottle of liquor in return for going easy on him has been convicted of soliciting a bribe and given a suspended prison sentence.
The Incheon District Court sentenced the officer, a senior inspector at a station in the city, to six months in prison, suspended for one year, and fined him 1 million won ($720), legal sources said Thursday.
The officer was assigned the drunk-driving case in May last year. The police officer urged the suspect to reach a settlement with the people hurt in the crash, then asked him for 300,000 won toward a staff dinner and a bottle of liquor worth 52,000 won. The two men had no prior connection.
The driver settled with the victims. The officer then booked him only for drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act. He left out the charge of causing injury under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents.
The crash happened on April 25 last year. The driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.114 percent when he drove 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Michuhol District to Yeonsu District in Incheon and hit a taxi that was waiting at a traffic light.
"The investigation went fine, and we are having a staff dinner soon. It would be good if you could help with the cost," the officer told the driver when he came in for questioning, investigators found. "Bring 300,000 won in cash to the station on the day of the dinner."
The officer also sent a text message. "When you come to the station, please pick up a bottle of liquor at the supermarket," it read.
The officer kept asking for money and goods from the driver even after the case went to trial. In court, the officer argued that the requests had nothing to do with his duties and involved no quid pro quo. On that basis, he said, they were not bribes.
Police officers check drivers near Wolmido in Jung District, Incheon, during a year-end drunk-driving crackdown on Dec. 11, 2025.YONHAP
The court rejected that. It found that he had demanded money and goods in connection with work that is central to a police officer's job.
Investigators questioned the driver about the requests.
"It struck me as a bribe, and I decided I should not hand it over," the driver said.
In its ruling, the court focused on which side had made the first move.
"For an officer working on an investigation to be the one who actively demands money from a suspect carries a high risk of damaging public confidence in the fairness of official duty, and is highly blameworthy," it said.
"We took into account that this was a first offense, that he served in the police for a long time and received several commendations and that the demand never resulted in a payment," the court said of the sentence.
The officer was given a heavy disciplinary penalty over the case earlier this year.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
