[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] A man in his 40s who hit a pedestrian while riding an electric scooter under the influence of alcohol was sentenced to a suspended prison term.
On the 2nd, Judge Park Won-kyu of the Criminal Division 1 at Seoul Southern District Court announced that A (49), who was charged with hitting a pedestrian while riding an electric scooter in a drunken state (drunk driving, etc.), was sentenced to 1 year and 2 months in prison with a 3-year suspension.
In October last year, A collided with B (29) while driving an electric scooter under the influence of alcohol on a side road in front of a park in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. B, who collided with the electric scooter, fell and suffered bruises with a two-week recovery period. At the time of the accident, A's blood alcohol concentration was 0.180%, which is at the level of license cancellation. In March, A was also caught driving without a license while intoxicated.
Judge Park explained, "An electric scooter falls under the category of a two-wheeled motor vehicle subject to the Automobile Management Act," and added, "The defendant committed the crimes of unlicensed and drunk driving again even during the trial." However, regarding the charge applied by the prosecution for violating the Automobile Damage Compensation Guarantee Act because A did not have automobile insurance for the electric scooter, the judge acquitted him, stating, "From the perspective of social norms, the social awareness that electric scooters are subject to mandatory insurance is extremely low."
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