What punishment will I receive if I refuse a breath test?

Refusal of breath test is when one refuses without justifiable reason a legitimate breath test request from police under the Road Traffic Act, which can result in imprisonment of 1 to 5 years or a fine of 5 million to 20 million won, and is a matter that may result in license revocation.

Refusal of testing is judged to have intent to hide one's drinking state, so the punishment intensity is high even for first-time offenders.

Even if actual blood alcohol concentration measurement was not performed, if the measurement request was legitimate and you did not comply, criminal punishment cannot be avoided just for the act of evading. ​

If the refusal of testing was accompanied by verbal abuse, property destruction, or assault due to physical resistance against police officers, the crime of obstruction of official duties can also be additionally applied.

In this case, since it constitutes a separate crime, punishment will be imposed separately from the refusal of breath test.

In this situation, simply submitting a letter of repentance is not enough, and explaining the circumstances at the time of refusal of testing is important.

It is necessary to sufficiently prepare materials proving the will to prevent recidivism and efforts to restore social trust, such as completion of DUI prevention education, plea letters, and explanatory documents on the workplace and family environment.

It is then important to strategically respond by submitting these to investigative agencies or trial courts to be considered as sentencing factors, and the level of criminal punishment or whether to be detained may also vary depending on this process.

Therefore, from now on, you should sincerely respond to police investigation, and carefully review whether the police's breath test procedures were lawful and whether your health condition or mental/physical situation at the time affected the refusal of breath test.