"Sentence Too Harsh" Drunk Driver Appeals, Sentence Doubled

Blood Alcohol Concentration 0.334% at the Time
Completely Drunk to the Point of Being Unable to Stand
Court: "The Original Sentence Was Too Lenient"

A man in his 40s who was caught by the police driving after drinking to the point of being unable to control his body appealed, claiming the original sentence was excessive, but his sentence was doubled.

A man in his 40s who was caught by the police driving after drinking to the point of being unable to control his body appealed, claiming the original sentence was excessive, but his sentence was doubled on appeal.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Cheongju District Court Criminal Appeal Division 1 (Chief Judge Kim Seong-sik) overturned the original sentence of one year imprisonment and sentenced A (46), who was detained and prosecuted for violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving), to two years in prison, according to Yonhap News on the 28th.

A is accused of driving a vehicle for about 300 meters while intoxicated on a road in Maengdong-myeon, Eumseong-gun, Chungbuk Province, around 4:30 p.m. on January 9. At that time, his blood alcohol concentration was 0.334%.

Generally, a blood alcohol concentration of 0.3% or higher is classified as an unconscious state where one cannot control their mind and body. The court sentenced A to one year in prison, but A appealed, claiming it was unfair.

The appellate court stated, "Although the defendant admits to the crime, considering that he had been punished several times for similar offenses before this incident and that his blood alcohol concentration was very high at the time, posing a very high risk of traffic accidents, the original sentence was too light and thus unfair."

Meanwhile, from next month, measures to prevent drunk driving, including seizure and confiscation of vehicles in cases of fatal accidents caused by drunk driving or habitual drunk driving, will be implemented. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the National Police Agency announced on the 28th that they will enforce the 'Joint Prosecution and Police Measures to Eradicate Drunk Driving,' which includes seizure and confiscation of vehicles of serious drunk driving offenders, starting July 1.

According to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, drunk driving has been increasing again due to the recent return to normal life. In 2022, there were about 130,000 drunk driving crackdowns and about 15,000 drunk driving accidents, similar to the pre-COVID-19 level in 2019. The recidivism rate has consistently been in the 40% range, and as of 2021, Korea ranks 8th among OECD countries in traffic accident deaths per 100,000 population.

Accordingly, vehicles will be subject to confiscation if a fatality or multiple injuries occur due to an accident caused by drunk driving, or in cases of drunk hit-and-run, recidivism, or violations of other traffic accident special laws.

The criteria for vehicle seizure and confiscation include: drivers involved in serious drunk driving fatal accidents with multiple casualties; drunk driving causing serious injury with two or more prior drunk driving offenses within five years; drunk driving with three or more prior offenses within five years; and other cases where vehicle seizure and confiscation are deemed necessary after comprehensively considering the extent of damage and likelihood of recidivism.

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