Drunk Driver Who Excused Himself Saying "The Lens Rotated"... Court Imposes Harsher Sentence Than Prosecutor's Recommendation

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The court did not accept his plea for leniency, saying "The contact lens I was wearing momentarily slipped to the side." Instead, the court handed down the maximum sentence of 8 years in prison, which is harsher than the prosecution's recommendation.

Judge Min Suyeon of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 26 recently delivered this verdict to Kim (52, male), who was indicted on charges including dangerous driving causing death under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. The prosecution had requested a 6-year prison term, but the court unusually imposed a heavier sentence.

Kim was tried for hitting and killing a Taiwanese woman in her 20s, identified as Ms. A, on November 6 last year near Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, while driving under the influence with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.079%. He was driving at 80 km/h, which is 30 km/h over the speed limit.

Subsequently, a petition titled "A 28-year-old youth died in an accident caused by a drunk driver while crossing a crosswalk" was posted on the Blue House's public petition board, and it quickly gathered over 200,000 signatures?the threshold for an official response from the Blue House?in less than ten days.

At the final hearing on the 8th of last month, Kim admitted all charges but appealed to the court for leniency, arguing that his blood alcohol level was not very high and that the accident occurred because the contact lens he was wearing shifted, causing him to panic.

However, the court was firm. Judge Min stated, "Despite having two prior punishments for drunk driving, he again drove under the influence, ran a red light, exceeded the speed limit, and suddenly caused the death of a pedestrian crossing with the pedestrian signal." He added, "If one’s eye health or vision is poor, one should be even more cautious when driving, but drinking and driving increases the blameworthiness."

He continued, "It is difficult to fathom the shock and grief of the victim’s family who learned of the accident from abroad," and noted, "The victim’s bereaved family and acquaintances are petitioning for a severe punishment." However, he explained the sentencing background by saying, "Considering that the defendant’s car was insured and that he made efforts to compensate for the damage by hiring a local lawyer."

After the trial, the victim Ms. A’s lawyer told reporters, "I was disappointed that the prosecution sought 6 years, but I think the 8-year sentence is progressive," adding, "There were aggravating factors, and the sentencing guidelines recommend 4 to 8 years, so it seems the maximum sentence within that range was imposed."

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