Pretending to Be a Younger Sibling During an Unlicensed Drunk Driving Check... Supreme Court Rules "Meaningless Signatures Are Also Forgery"

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court has handed down a final prison sentence to a man who, after being caught driving under the influence without a license, impersonated someone else by presenting his younger brother's driver's license.

On the 30th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jae-hyung) upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing Mr. A to 1 year and 4 months in prison on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving), forgery of official documents, and forgery of signatures.

Mr. A, who did not have a driver's license, drove a cargo truck in a state of severe intoxication with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.134% on August 14 last year on a road in Gimhae City, Gyeongnam Province.

When caught in a police DUI checkpoint, Mr. A was asked to present identification and showed his younger brother's driver's license, which he had in advance. He also signed an indecipherable symbol next to his brother's name on the police officer's portable information terminal (PDA).

The key issue was whether the 'indecipherable symbol' entered on the portable information terminal should be considered forgery of a signature and use of a forged signature.

The first trial court found Mr. A guilty and sentenced him to 1 year and 4 months in prison, and the appellate court imposed the same sentence.

The Supreme Court also recognized Mr. A's guilt, ruling that he had forged his brother's signature, thereby confirming the lower court's decision. The Supreme Court stated, "When the defendant was caught for drunk driving and claimed to be his younger brother during the investigation, the act of entering an indecipherable symbol in the signature field instead of A's name constitutes forgery of A's signature."

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