To provide a low-speed breaking circuit for reducing a surge voltage that is generated in the case of overcurrent break for a current detection means for utilizing the voltage drop of resistors out of the current detection means using an integrated circuit for drive in a full-bridge DC/AC conversion circuit.

This drive circuit of a switching element is composed of a DC power supply 1 and a full-bridge DC/AC conversion circuit 12, a shunt resistor 6, a pulse signal generation means 7, an integrated circuit 8 for drive, an overcurrent detection circuit 9, a timer breaking circuit 10, a low-speed breaking circuit 11, and a gate resistor 13. The timer breaking circuit 10 retains the state of a pulse signal to the integrated circuit 8 for drive for a fixed amount of time so that a surge voltage does not become excessively large cause by high-speed break in the case of overcurrent break, a switching element is broken in the case of decrease by the low-speed breaking circuit 11, and then a pulse signal to the integrated circuit 8 for driving is stopped, thus reducing the generation of a surge voltage in the case of current break.