'Baeseung-a Yang School Zone Drunk Driving Death Accident' 60s Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

Court: "Foreseeable Accident... High Fault Illegality"

A man in his 60s who fatally struck 9-year-old Bae Seung-ah while driving under the influence in a school zone in Daejeon was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the first trial.

The Criminal Division 12 of the Daejeon District Court (Presiding Judge Na Sang-hoon) sentenced Bang Mo (66), who was arrested and indicted on charges including causing death and injury in a child protection zone and dangerous driving causing death under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to 12 years in prison on the 20th.

A man in his 60s, Mr. A, who is accused of hitting and killing an elementary school student while driving under the influence in a school zone in Dunsan-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon, is being transported by a police vehicle on the afternoon of April 10th to Dunsan Police Station for a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The court stated, "The defendant was so intoxicated that he could not even properly control his body and was unaware of the situation immediately after the accident, despite citizens rushing to provide protection. Instead of braking, he pressed the accelerator, causing a physical impact that resulted in the victim's death."

It added, "There has been a societal demand for harsher punishment of drunk drivers, and since the 2018 legal amendment, the statutory penalty for dangerous driving causing death has been increased to life imprisonment or imprisonment for three years or more. Since the accident was foreseeable and avoidable depending on the defendant's will, the illegality of negligence is significant, and the outcome is also tragic and severe."

Bang was tried on charges of driving a passenger car in a heavily intoxicated state on April 8 at around 2:21 p.m., crossing the road curb and rushing onto the sidewalk within the school zone near the intersection by Tanbang Middle School in Dunsan-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon, fatally striking Bae and injuring three other children aged 9 to 10 who were walking together.

At the time of the accident, Bang's blood alcohol concentration was 0.108%, exceeding the license cancellation standard of 0.08%. The driving speed was 42 km/h, exceeding the legal speed limit of 30 km/h. Investigations revealed that Bang had been drinking with acquaintances at a restaurant in Taepyeong-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon, around 12:30 p.m. that day and then drove approximately 5.3 km to the accident site.

At the sentencing hearing held last month, the prosecution requested a 15-year prison sentence for Bang, stating, "Other surviving victims are still trapped in the day of the accident, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and receiving psychiatric treatment. We ask the judiciary to sound a warning against drunk driving through punishment commensurate with the crime."

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