Why Was the Verdict Reversed from Not Guilty to Guilty for Driving 30m in a Parking Lot While Intoxicated?

1st Trial: "Vehicle Likely Moved Unintentionally"
Appeal Trial: "Intentional Driving Due to Vehicle Structure"

An intoxicated man was indicted on charges of driving about 30 meters in an apartment parking lot. The court acquitted him of drunk driving in the first trial, but the verdict was overturned to guilty in the second trial.

According to the Ulsan District Court on the 7th, last June at night, the police received a report that a vehicle had climbed onto the sidewalk in an apartment parking lot in Ulsan.

When the responding police officers measured the blood alcohol concentration of the driver, a man in his 50s identified as A, it showed 0.118%, far exceeding the license cancellation standard (0.08% or higher). The police charged A with violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving), believing he drove the car about 30 meters inside the apartment parking lot and then reversed.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, the first trial court judged that “A had no intention to operate the vehicle, but the vehicle might have moved,” and acquitted him.

They based this on the fact that a designated driver parked the car in the apartment parking lot and left, after which A sat in the driver's seat and the vehicle did not move for about 40 minutes. Later, when the vehicle started reversing, CCTV footage showed A with his head bowed toward the steering wheel, asleep. Notably, A remained in the vehicle even when it was reversed onto the sidewalk until the police arrived.

During the trial, A claimed that he accidentally touched the gear shift lever while trying to operate the air conditioner. The court accepted A’s claim that he had no intention to drive from the beginning and that he unintentionally pulled the gear shift lever into reverse while sitting in the driver's seat.

However, the appellate court (Ulsan District Court Criminal Appeal Division 1-1) overturned the first trial’s verdict and sentenced A to a fine of 5 million won.

The court’s reasoning was based on the structure of the vehicle’s gear shift lever. The lever moves in a ‘⊃’ shape from Park (‘P’) to Reverse (‘R’), so it cannot be moved in a straight line at once. Moreover, to move the lever from ‘P’ to ‘R’, the brake must be pressed.

The appellate court stated, “It is acknowledged that the vehicle was parked for a long time and was stopped on the sidewalk, which is somewhat abnormal driving behavior,” but added, “This was due to impaired judgment and discernment caused by alcohol, and it appears that there was an intention to drive.”

Traffic police conducting a sobriety checkpoint Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, in December last year, a man in his 40s identified as B, who was indicted for driving his parked passenger car about 50 cm on the road, received a suspended sentence with a fine of 5 million won.

At that time, B’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.111%, which was at the license cancellation level. However, B testified that he drove the car because he was worried that the designated driver might have difficulty getting in due to vomit beside the driver's seat, and the court took this into consideration and showed leniency.

Also, in 2021 in Ulsan, a man indicted for driving his car about 10 meters while intoxicated and refusing a police alcohol test was acquitted. The court ruled, “Although he was intoxicated, he moved the car about 10 meters to ensure smooth traffic and prevent accidents, which constitutes emergency escape rather than drunk driving.”

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