Assemblyman Kim Hoe-jae, Suspended Sentence for Drunk Driving... Park Soon-ae Calls It a 0.01% Miracle Compared to Other Cases

0.78% of All Drunk Driving Convictions in 2002 Received Suspended Sentences

Among Suspended Sentences at Seoul Central District Court, Only Park Sun-ae Had a Blood Alcohol Concentration Over 0.2%

[Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Cheol-hoon] It has been revealed that in 2002, the year Park Soon-ae, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, received a suspended sentence for drunk driving, only 0.78% of all drunk driving verdicts were suspended sentences. Analysis shows that Park Soon-ae’s suspended sentence was very unusual compared to other cases.

According to the ‘2002 Drunk Driving Verdict Status’ submitted by the Supreme Court to Kim Hoe-jae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Jeonnam Yeosu-si Eul), the total number of first-instance drunk driving verdicts in 2002 was 10,811.

Among them, only 84 people received suspended sentences, accounting for just 0.78% of the total. This means that the suspended sentence received by Deputy Prime Minister Park Soon-ae was a very rare case within the 0.78%.

As a result, Park’s explanation that ‘a special pardon for drunk driving before the trial influenced the outcome’ has lost its persuasiveness.

Even among the rare 0.78% cases, Park’s suspended sentence was exceptional compared to others.

Kim Hoe-jae’s office conducted a full analysis of the nine suspended sentence drunk driving cases from 2002 at the Seoul Central District Court where Park’s sentence was handed down. Among the drunk drivers who received suspended sentences, Park was the only one with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeding 0.2%.

Other drunk drivers who received suspended sentences were found to have relatively minor offenses.

Person A, with a BAC of 0.052%, was a first-time offender and received a suspended sentence due to the mildness of the offense. Four other suspended sentence cases had BAC levels in the 0.05% range.

Person B (BAC 0.167%), who exceeded the license cancellation level, received a suspended sentence after driving a 100cc motorcycle about 5 meters while intoxicated. Person C (0.185%) was charged with reversing their own Chairman sedan about 4 meters.

Park’s verdict did not specify the reason for the suspended sentence.

In the legal community, it is pointed out that it is unreasonable that the judge gave a suspended sentence to Park, who did not have a lawyer appointed and thus did not receive adequate defense, and that the prosecutor gave up on appealing despite having grounds to do so, resulting in the case’s closure.

Kim Hoe-jae, a former prosecutor and current lawmaker, said, “The court gave a suspended sentence despite Park Soon-ae’s BAC far exceeding the license cancellation level, and the prosecution confirmed the verdict without appeal, making this a very unusual case. Compared to other cases, this is a miracle in the top 0.01%, not just the top 0.78%.”

He added, “Despite strong suspicions beyond simple drunken driving, President Yoon Seok-yeol appointed Park Soon-ae without even the minimum verification or a confirmation hearing. President Yoon, as the appointing authority, must take responsibility and resolve this issue by himself, as Park is unfit in the eyes of the public.”

Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Cheol-hoon hss79@asiae.co.kr

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