'Riding a Porsche Zoom~' Fourth Drunk Driving Lawyer Receives Probation in First Trial... Heads to Appeal Court

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A lawyer who committed his fourth drunk driving offense was sentenced to a suspended prison term.

On the 29th, according to the legal community, Min Suyeon, presiding judge of Criminal Division 26 at the Seoul Central District Court, sentenced lawyer A (41, male), who was indicted for violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving), to one year in prison with a two-year suspension. He was also ordered to perform 120 hours of community service and attend 40 hours of a compliance driving lecture.

Previously, lawyer A was brought to trial for driving a Porsche passenger car with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.204% (license cancellation level) over a 2.5 km section of road in the Gangnam area of Seoul around 1 a.m. on August 7 last year.

Lawyer A had three prior drunk driving convictions, including a summary order with a fine of 7 million won in 2019.

The court pointed out, "The defendant has a history of criminal punishment for drunk driving, and despite only two years having passed since the last punishment for drunk driving, he committed the offense again in this case," and added, "The defendant’s blood alcohol concentration level was very high."

However, the court stated, "Considering that the defendant pledged not to reoffend and participated in an alcohol problem recovery program, that he has no prior punishment exceeding a fine, and other sentencing factors revealed during the trial such as the defendant’s age, character and environment, motive, means and results of the crime, and circumstances after the offense, the sentence is determined as ordered."

Meanwhile, lawyer A was charged under Article 148-2, Paragraph 1 of the Road Traffic Act, known as the 'Yoon Chang-ho Act,' which imposes heavier penalties on those caught drunk driving or refusing a breathalyzer test two or more times.

However, after this ruling, the Constitutional Court ruled that the part of Article 148-2, Paragraph 1 of the Road Traffic Act concerning 'persons who have violated Article 44, Paragraph 1 (prohibition of drunk driving) two or more times' is unconstitutional, declaring the Yoon Chang-ho Act partially unconstitutional. It found that imposing heavier penalties without considering the interval or severity between the two offenses was unfair.

Both the prosecution and the defendant have appealed the first trial verdict.