A person who wants to remove an alcohol interlock from a vehicle after its fitting period ends will find it hard to schedule the removal based only on a notice that "the period is over." An alcohol interlock is a device that controls the vehicle so that it can start only when the driver's breath test meets certain conditions. Under Korea's Road Traffic Act, a person who holds a driver's license conditional on an alcohol interlock is subject to rules on installing and registering the device, submitting driving records, and having it inspected for proper operation.
What needs to be confirmed before removal is whether the device's period of use has ended, whether the case falls under a removal reason the law allows, and whether there are driving records still to be submitted or kept before disconnection. The result that the device is gone from the vehicle is not the same as a determination that the fitting obligation and record-submission procedures are all finished. The starting point of a removal plan is therefore to check separately the basis for the administrative period, the scope of work on the vehicle, and the order for handling the data left in the device.
Distinguish lawful removal reasons from the end of the period
Article 50-3(4) of the Road Traffic Act in principle prohibits removing or tampering with an alcohol interlock installed in a vehicle, or otherwise impairing its function. However, it makes exceptions for inspection or maintenance of the device, scrapping of the vehicle, reasons prescribed by Presidential Decree such as education or research, and expiration of the device fitting period under Article 82(2)10 of the same Act.
The important point is that the fact that this article lists exceptions and the fact that a particular vehicle actually falls under one of them are separate. For example, temporarily handling the device for maintenance and permanently removing it because the fitting period has ended involve different reasons for the work and different documents to check. In a removal request or internal approval document, it is better to state, without mixing them, which reason applies: "expiration of the period," "inspection or maintenance," or "scrapping."
Treat the end date as verifiable documentation, not a notice
To remove the device on the grounds that the period has expired, you must be able to confirm the start date, the end date, and the basis on which those dates were calculated. Being told verbally that "you can remove it now," or the fact that some time has passed since installation, leaves no record of which conditional license and fitting period the judgment concerned.
The documents to check can include documents received in connection with the conditional license, the vehicle information compiled at installation and registration, and guidance from the relevant agency on the end of the period or follow-up procedures. Also check that the vehicle number, the person concerned, and the dates match across the documents. Because registration is also required when important registered details change, if the vehicle was replaced or the registered details changed, you need to compare the relevant guidance first rather than identifying the vehicle to be worked on from past documents alone.
| What to review before removal | What to confirm | What to decide after confirming |
|---|---|---|
| Documents on the fitting period | Start and end dates and how they were calculated | Whether to request removal on the grounds of expiration of the period |
| Vehicle and registration information | Whether the vehicle number matches the installation and registration information | Identify the actual vehicle to be worked on |
| Documents on driving-record submission and inspection | Whether any procedures remain to be submitted or undergone | Order of data retrieval and the work date |
| Removal work request | Reason for the work: expiration of the period, maintenance, or scrapping | Agree on the scope of work with the installer or maintenance provider |
The items in the table do not mean you should create a new approval form. Because the reason for removal, the vehicle, and the remaining procedures may be scattered across different documents, the idea is to check before booking the work that all three point to the same subject. In particular, working backward to estimate the end date from the removal booking date makes it hard to explain later.
Align the order of driving-record submission and device removal
Under Article 50-3(6), a person who has registered installation details must submit the driving records of the vehicle with the device to the commissioner of the city or provincial police agency at least twice a year and undergo inspections that check whether the device operates properly. This provision shows that driving-record and inspection procedures can be linked separately from the physical removal of the device.
So it is appropriate to check the most recent submission and inspection documents before disconnection and, if there is still data to process, to start by deciding when to retrieve the necessary information from the device. The law alone does not tell you whether disconnecting the device deletes the driving data automatically, whether it remains in an external system, or in what format it can be exported. This can vary by device model, management software, and how installation and management are handled, so confirm with the installer or maintenance provider who will do the actual work whether the data can be retrieved and what will be handled, and reflect that in the schedule.
If the vehicle is being sold or scrapped, it is better not to lump the vehicle's ownership and disposal procedures and the handling of an individual's driving records into one person's task. Writing down the vehicle delivery date, whether the device will be retrieved, and whether driving records have been submitted, each separately, reduces the need to track down where the necessary data is after the vehicle has already been disposed of.
A check sequence in a hypothetical case
For instance, suppose a person with a conditional license wants to book removal of the device as the end of the fitting period approaches. The installation confirmation the person in charge holds shows the vehicle number and installation date, but the end date can be confirmed only in a separate notice. The installation confirmation also does not show whether the latest driving records were submitted or when the proper-operation inspection is scheduled.
The observation in this case is not "the device has been installed for a long time" but "there is documentation of the end of the period, but whether the submission and inspection procedures for this vehicle are finished has not yet been confirmed." The interpretation is that there is a basis for reviewing whether removal is possible because the period has expired, but not enough information to confirm the removal work right away.
Possible actions are to compare the end-date documents with the vehicle number, check the relevant agency's follow-up guidance, and ask the installer or maintenance provider whether any driving data needs to be retrieved before disconnection. The completion criterion is not simply that the device has been taken out, but that the removal reason is identified as expiration of the period, the target vehicle matches, and the next steps for any required driving-record submission, inspection, and data handling are organized.
Do not change connections yourself, and keep a record of the work
The law prohibits removal or tampering without a permitted reason, and any act that impairs the device's function. It also prohibits starting the vehicle by improper means, such as having another person blow into the device in your place. That is why, even if the period is judged to have ended, it does not become something the user handles by changing the wiring or device connections personally.
Restoring vehicle functions and disconnecting and retrieving the device can proceed after the scope of the installation or maintenance work has been confirmed. After the work, it is good to record at least on which vehicle, for what reason, and when the removal took place, and how the device and driving data were handled. This does not mean a separate statutory form; it is a record to avoid confusing the vehicle and work involved when you later need to sell the vehicle, check its maintenance history, or confirm whether data was submitted.
Removal after the end of the fitting period is not a procedure of checking a single date. You must align, in order, whether the statutory exception of an expired period applies, whether the installed and registered vehicle matches, the procedures for driving-record submission and inspection, and the scope of the actual removal work. Following this order reduces the risk of handling the end-of-period judgment and the vehicle work on different bases.
※ This article provides general information and is not legal advice for any specific case. Consult a lawyer or other professional about your specific situation. Laws may be amended, so check the latest version at the Korea Law Information Center.
