This image is not directly related to the story (123rf) A US service member stationed in South Korea has been fined 15 million won ($10,200) for driving about 260 kilometers from Gwangju to Busan while heavily intoxicated, a court said Friday.The Busan District Court convicted the technical sergeant of drunken driving and operating a vehicle without mandatory insurance.The defendant drove a Lincoln sedan from Gwangsan-gu in Gwangju to Busanjin-gu in Busan at about 9 p.m. on Dec. 17 last year, according to the court.A breath test showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.223 percent, nearly three times the 0.08 percent threshold for license revocation in Korea. The vehicle was also uninsured.The service member challenged the test result, arguing that an alcohol-containing mouthwash used about an hour earlier may have inflated the reading. The defendant also said their speech, complexion and ability to walk appeared normal at the time.The defense further alleged that police failed to properly explain the right to request a blood test because officers communicated only through a translation application.The court rejected both arguments, finding the breath test reliable and the testing procedure lawful.An officer used Google Translate to explain that only one breath test would be conducted and gave the defendant more than 200 milliliters of water to rinse their mouth before the test, the court said. The breathalyzer met quality standards and appeared to have been fitted with a new mouthpiece.The court also found no objective evidence that the defendant had used mouthwash that night. Even if it had been used an hour earlier, rinsing with water would have prevented it from affecting the result, the judge said.“Drunken driving poses a serious risk to the lives and physical safety of others and warrants severe punishment,” the court said.It cited the defendant's exceptionally high blood alcohol level, the long distance driven and the lack of mandatory insurance in determining the sentence.