Bar Owner Who Left Drunk Patron to Die Amid Overpriced Fake Liquor Charges

Overcharging for Drinks After Forcing Rapid Heavy Drinking
Chuncheon District Court Sentences to 3 Years and 6 Months Imprisonment

The owner of a nightlife establishment was sentenced to prison for not only overcharging a drunken customer but also causing the customer's death due to excessive drinking.

On the 8th, the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Lee Young-jin) announced that it sentenced A (48), who was charged with negligent homicide, quasi-fraud, and violation of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, to 3 years and 6 months in prison and a fine of 1 million won.

A, who operated the nightlife establishment, lured intoxicated customers to his bar in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, in July 2021, and made them drink a type of fake whiskey called so-called 'Pingsul,' which was a mixture of low-priced whiskey poured into high-priced whiskey bottles. He used a method of forcing customers to drink the fake whiskey quickly to become heavily intoxicated and then overcharged them for the drinks to extort money. Other accomplices, including waiters, female hostesses, and the kitchen manager, assisted A in his crimes.

Chuncheon District Court
Photo by Yonhap News

Additionally, A is also charged with leaving a man in his 40s unconscious inside the bar until dawn due to excessive drinking, resulting in his death. At the time, the deceased victim's blood alcohol concentration was 0.342%. When the investigation into this case began, A fled and went into hiding. When he eventually appeared in court, he denied the charges, but the court did not accept his denial.

The court pointed out, "Considering the circumstances and details of each crime, the nature of the offenses is very serious." Regarding the sentencing, the court explained, "Immediately after the incident, A instructed a waiter to dismantle the closed-circuit television (CCTV) inside the bar, personally destroyed the bar's ledger, and ordered accomplices to give false statements, showing very poor conduct after the crime."

Meanwhile, while A was in hiding, B (54), who operated A's nightlife establishment, received a confirmed sentence of 3 years in prison for the same crimes and was additionally sentenced to 6 months in prison after further overcharging offenses were revealed. However, the waiters, female hostesses, and kitchen manager who were indicted alongside A and B received suspended prison sentences due to their relatively minor involvement in the crimes.

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