Impact of 'Yoon Chang-ho Act' Unconstitutionality... Supreme Court Overturns Drunk Driver's Conviction in 'International Student Death' Case

Friends of Zheng Yilin, a Taiwanese international student who died after being hit by a drunk driving vehicle, are being interviewed by the press on the afternoon of the 30th after the Supreme Court ruling in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The Supreme Court overturned an 8-year prison sentence given to a defendant who killed a Taiwanese international student by drunk driving. This was because the 'Yoon Chang-ho Act,' which the Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional last month, was applied in the lower court's sentencing.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice No Tae-ak) on the 30th overturned the original ruling that sentenced Kim (52), who was charged with violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (dangerous driving causing death) and the Road Traffic Act, to 8 years in prison, and sent the case back to the Seoul Central District Court.

The court stated, "When a law or legal provision related to punishment loses its effect retroactively due to an unconstitutional ruling, cases prosecuted under that provision are considered not to constitute a crime," adding, "The original ruling that found the defendant guilty of violating the Road Traffic Act among the charges can no longer be maintained."

The first and second trials had convicted driver Kim by combining charges under the Special Act and the Road Traffic Act, but since the 'Yoon Chang-ho Act,' which is the applicable provision of the Road Traffic Act, was ruled unconstitutional, the second trial must be retried.

Kim was indicted for killing Taiwanese international student Zheng Yilin (曾以琳, 28), who was crossing a crosswalk following a pedestrian signal, by driving over the speed limit on a road in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, at around 11:40 p.m. on November 6 last year.

At the time, he was in a state of intoxication with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.079%, which is at the license suspension level. He drove at over 80 km/h in a 50 km/h speed limit zone and ignored stop signals.

The prosecution sought a 6-year prison sentence in the first trial, but the court unusually sentenced him to 8 years, considering that Kim had been fined for drunk driving in 2012 and 2017, showing habitual drunk driving. The second trial upheld the same judgment.

However, last month, the Constitutional Court ruled that the provision in the former Road Traffic Act (the law as amended on December 24, 2018, until it was changed again on June 9, 2020) that imposed aggravated punishment on repeat drunk drivers was excessive punishment and unconstitutional, causing the provision to lose its effect.

Following the Supreme Court's overturning of the ruling, the retrial at the second trial is expected to apply the Special Act and general punishment provisions related to drunk driving.

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