Guide to Traffic-Related Administrative Disposition Standards and Challenges

Based on 79 consultation cases · Updated October 4, 2026 · Translated from the Korean original.

Administrative dispositions concerning drunk-driving license revocation, private taxi business licenses, and traffic accidents are assessed based on specific circumstances, including where and how the conduct occurred, the procedures followed, and the type of license involved. The outcome is not determined by the disposition standards alone, so check the notice and hearing procedures and do not miss the statutory deadlines for challenging the disposition.

People involved → Driver → Administrative agency → Private taxi operator → You face a traffic-related license or taxi disposition → Was the place a road and was the vehicle being driven? → Were required evidence and hearing procedures followed? → Does the legal ground fit the license and disposition actually made? → Disposition may be lawful depending on facts and law → This ground may not apply or the disposition may be challengeable → Check road access, traffic use and how the vehicle moved → Check blood-test consent or warrants, and hearing and notice procedures → Check agency standards, license type, taxi transfer rules and deadlines → Yes — Road Traffic Act → No → Yes → Review the location and driving → Review evidence and procedure → Review license rules and timing

Key points

Whether a place is a road under the Road Traffic Act is determined by examining, among other things, whether it is open to an unspecified number of people and used for traffic. A passageway within an apartment complex may qualify as a road depending on the circumstances, but courts have held that a parking area within marked parking spaces is not a road (Examples 2 and 8).
Even briefly moving a vehicle to park may constitute driving if the place is a road and the vehicle was used in its ordinary manner (Example 16).
A pedestrian crossing while the pedestrian signal is flashing green is also protected by the driver’s duty to protect pedestrians. However, in an example involving an accident after the pedestrian signal turned red, the court distinguished a breach of the duty to protect pedestrians at a crosswalk from a breach of the general duty to prevent accidents (Examples 14 and 17).
The standards for revoking a driver’s license may be internal guidelines for the administrative agency. The lawfulness of a disposition must therefore be assessed by considering both the laws and the specific circumstances of the disposition (Examples 3 and 7).
Blood sampling to determine whether a person drove under the influence may raise issues concerning the driver’s consent or compliance with legal procedures. A license disposition based solely on blood test results obtained without consent or a warrant may be unlawful (Examples 12 and 19).
As a general rule, different types of driver’s licenses are treated separately. It must be examined whether the grounds for revocation apply only to a license related to the vehicle driven (Examples 18 and 20).
When the law requires a hearing before a disposition, merely visiting the administrative agency and requesting a postponement does not mean that a hearing was held (Example 4).
For dispositions concerning a private taxi business license, distinguish whether a driver’s license revocation disposition was actually made and how the rules on succession to, or transfer and acquisition of, the license apply (Examples 13 and 21).

Frequently asked questions

Q. Can my license be revoked for drunk driving inside an apartment complex?

The first question is whether the place where you drove qualifies as a “road” under the Road Traffic Act. A passageway within an apartment complex may qualify as a road depending on factors such as access by outside vehicles and how it is managed, but courts have held that a parking area within marked parking spaces is not a road.

Case 2, Case 8

Q. Is it drunk driving if I move my car just a little to park after drinking?

If you start the vehicle and move it in a place open to general traffic, such as a dead-end alley in a residential area, even a short move to park may constitute driving. Both the place where you drove and the way you moved the vehicle are considered.

Case 16

Q. Must I protect a pedestrian who starts crossing while the pedestrian signal is flashing green?

Yes. The court decision discussed in the example held that a driver’s duty to protect pedestrians also applies to pedestrians crossing while the pedestrian signal is flashing green. Whether the pedestrian obeyed the signal and whether the driver fulfilled the duty to protect pedestrians must be considered separately.

Case 14

Q. If I hit a pedestrian after the pedestrian signal turns red, is that a breach of the duty to protect pedestrians at a crosswalk?

The court decision discussed in the example held that, if the pedestrian signal had turned red at the moment of impact, the incident might not constitute a breach of the duty to protect pedestrians at a crosswalk. However, this does not eliminate liability for breaching general accident-prevention duties, such as keeping a proper lookout.

Case 17

Q. Can my license be revoked based on a blood test taken without my consent or a warrant?

A legal procedure is required to take a blood sample without the driver’s consent, and even when a sample is taken without a warrant in an emergency, the need for a subsequent warrant may be at issue. A license disposition based on blood test results obtained without consent or a warrant may be unlawful.

Case 12, Case 19

Q. What happens if I challenge a breathalyzer result and the police lose my blood sample?

The breathalyzer result is not automatically excluded just because the blood sample was lost. However, whether the test result is particularly reliable is assessed by considering the circumstances as a whole, including the number and distribution of the readings. The court decision discussed in the example held that the disposition may be unlawful if it is difficult to conclude, based only on the test results, that the revocation threshold was exceeded.

Case 23

Q. If I drive drunk a vehicle that I am not authorized to drive with one type of license, will all my other licenses also be revoked?

As a general rule, different types of driver’s licenses are treated separately. Whether a license may also be revoked if it is unrelated to the license authorizing the driver to operate the vehicle in question depends on the grounds for revocation applicable to each license.

Case 18, Case 20

Q. By when must I apply to challenge the revocation of my driver’s license?

According to the example, an administrative appeal must be filed within 90 days from the date you became aware of the disposition and within 180 days from the date it was made. If you file a lawsuit challenging the administrative appeal decision, you must also check the applicable deadlines: within 90 days from the date you received an authenticated copy of the written decision, and within one year from the date the decision was made.

Case 7

Q. Can I challenge the revocation of a private taxi business license if no hearing was held beforehand?

If the applicable laws and regulations require a hearing, one must be held unless an exception applies. Filing a document requesting a postponement of the disposition does not, by itself, mean that a hearing was held.

Case 4

Relevant laws

Road Traffic Act, Article 1 (도로교통법 제1조)
Road Traffic Act, Article 2 (도로교통법 제2조)
Road Traffic Act, Article 5 (도로교통법 제5조)
Road Traffic Act, Article 16 (도로교통법 제16조)
Road Traffic Act, Article 25 (도로교통법 제25조)
Road Traffic Act, Article 27 (도로교통법 제27조)
Road Traffic Act, Article 44 (도로교통법 제44조)
Road Traffic Act, Article 80 (도로교통법 제80조)
Road Traffic Act, Article 93 (도로교통법 제93조)
Road Traffic Act, Article 142 (도로교통법 제142조)
Road Traffic Act, Article 148-2 (도로교통법 제148조의2)
Enforcement Rules of the Road Traffic Act, Article 6 (도로교통법 시행규칙 제6조)
Enforcement Rules of the Road Traffic Act, Article 53 (도로교통법 시행규칙 제53조)
Enforcement Rules of the Road Traffic Act, Article 91 (도로교통법 시행규칙 제91조)
Enforcement Rules of the Road Traffic Act, Article 92 (도로교통법 시행규칙 제92조)

Watch out for

Whether a place is a road is not determined by its name alone; its accessibility to the public and the actual circumstances of its management and use must be examined.
The driver’s license administrative disposition standards are described in the examples as internal guidelines that do not directly bind courts or the public. The lawfulness of a disposition must be assessed by considering both the applicable laws and the individual circumstances.
When challenging a drunk-driving disposition, check the filing deadlines for administrative appeals and lawsuits separately, and take care not to miss the deadlines stated in the examples.
A private taxi business license and a driver’s license are separate dispositions. Distinguish whether the grounds for revoking a driver’s license also permit revocation of the business license, and whether a revocation disposition was actually made.

When the Company Van Crashes: Does Personal Insurance Cancel Out Your Workers' Comp?

Source cases

This guide was compiled by AI from the following Korea Legal Aid Corporation consultation cases (in Korean).

This guide is general legal information about Korean law, not legal advice for your situation. For a specific case, consult a lawyer or the Korea Legal Aid Corporation (call 132 in Korea).