A total of 299 people were caught drunk driving on the first night after business hour restrictions were lifted and gathering size limits were raised Monday under the government's "living with COVID-19" scheme, police said.

Of them, 89 were caught with blood alcohol levels high enough to have their license suspended and another 200 with levels warranting license revocation, according to the National Police Agency. The remaining 10 were caught for refusing to take a breathalyzer test.

South Korea began the first of three stages to gradually phase out coronavirus restrictions on Monday, as more than 70 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.

Under the first phase, operation hour curfews on cafes and restaurants have been fully lifted, while ceilings on private gatherings have been raised to a maximum of 10 people in the greater Seoul area and 12 in other regions.

Police said they will conduct crackdowns on drunk driving from this month to January of next year as gatherings involving alcohol are expected to increase in the year-end season in line with measures to return to normalcy.

The number of DUI accidents has decreased in general, but the number of daily cases of DUI crackdowns jumped by 16.8 percent to 361.8 in October from an average of 309.9 between January and September, according to the police. (Yonhap)