70s Drunk Driving at 200 km/h in High-Speed Chase... Sentenced to 1 Year and 6 Months in Prison

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] A man in his 70s who fled in a vehicle at a speed of 200 km/h after a police patrol car chased him for drunk driving was sentenced to prison.

The Criminal Division 14 of the Incheon District Court (Chief Judge Kyungjin Ryu) announced on the 13th that it sentenced Mr. A (70), who was indicted for drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act and injury to a public official performing special duties, to 1 year and 6 months in prison.

Mr. A was indicted for driving a passenger car under the influence of alcohol around 3 a.m. on August 4 on Olympic-daero in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, and colliding with a pursuing patrol car. When the patrol car dispatched after receiving a report of suspected drunk driving chased him, he fled driving at a speed of 190 to 200 km/h for about 36 km.

During the escape, he pushed the patrol car, which was in the 3rd to 4th lanes, with his passenger car all the way to the 1st lane, and the police officer in his 30s driving the patrol car suffered a cervical spine injury. Mr. A was caught when a taxi chasing alongside the police blocked his path, and two patrol cars blocked the escape route from the side and rear.

At the time of arrest, Mr. A's blood alcohol concentration was 0.223%, far exceeding the license cancellation level of 0.08%. It was confirmed that he had a history of being punished five times in the past for drunk driving or obstruction of official duties.

The court pointed out, "The defendant drove recklessly while fleeing from the patrol car's pursuit after driving under the influence of alcohol," and "The situation could have caused a large-scale traffic accident, so the culpability is very serious."

However, the court explained the sentencing reasons, saying, "He is reflecting on his crime," and "Considering that 1.2 million won was paid to the injured police officer, and some damages were restored, such as the defendant paying the insurance company for the patrol car he damaged."

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