Some 75 percent of Koreans support the idea of lowering the legal blood alcohol level when driving from 0.05 percent to 0.03 percent, according to a survey released by the National Police Agency on Monday.

The agency polled 700 drivers and 300 non-drivers across the country last month.

Some 65.6 percent of men and 85 percent of women supported tougher rules. Even among drivers 72.7 percent agreed.

A blood alcohol content of 0.03 percent is measured about an hour after a person drinks a small regular glass of soju.

In Japan, drunk driving deaths have dwindled by a quarter over the decade since it toughened drunk driving rules in 2002 by lowering the legal blood alcohol level from 0.05 percent down to 0.03 percent.

In Sweden, drivers lose their license if they have just 0.02 percent alcohol in their blood.

In Korea, drunk driving deaths dropped from 781 in 2010 to 583 in 2015. But one in 10 traffic fatalities is still caused by drunk driving.

