Drunken Woman Who 'Surprised Kissed' Male Taxi Driver Receives Reduced Sentence in Appeal Trial

Court: "Crime was impulsive due to intoxication, assault was minor"
1st trial: 4 months imprisonment with 1 year probation → Appeal trial: 2 million won fine

Daejeon Court Complex. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Bong-ju] The sentence of a woman who ambushed a male taxi driver with a kiss while intoxicated has been reduced from imprisonment to a fine.

According to the legal community on the 14th, A (48, female) got into the front passenger seat of a taxi while drunk last January, and near the destination, during the process of receiving change, she ambushed and kissed the lips of the male driver in his 30s.

A, who was indicted on charges of sexual assault, claimed in the first trial that "I have a habit of touching lips and sending kisses when parting from people, but there was no physical contact," but this was not accepted.

In the first trial, Judge Lee Tae-young of the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 8 said, "There are detailed descriptions in the victim's testimony that are difficult to make without direct experience, and parts of the black box recording correspond with the victim's statement," sentencing her to 4 months imprisonment with a 1-year probation and ordering her to attend 40 hours of sexual violence treatment lectures.

Later, in the appeal trial, the Daejeon District Court Criminal Appeal Division 1 (Chief Judge Yoon Sung-mook) stated, "After examining various evidence, it was found that the defendant ambushed and kissed the victim's lips during the process of getting off the taxi." However, since the female defendant lightly kissed the male victim's lips only once, the court accepted the defendant's opinion that "the sentence is too heavy."

The appellate court overturned the original verdict, stating, "The defendant committed the act impulsively while intoxicated, and the degree of assault was relatively minor," and sentenced her to a fine of 2 million won. No order was made for public disclosure of personal information or employment restrictions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.