Suspended Sentence Despite 7 Unlicensed Offenses, Why... "Couldn't Get License Because I Don't Know Hangul"

Consideration Given to Unawareness of Facts Verifiable by Oral Examination

A man in his 50s with six prior offenses of driving without a license was caught driving without a license again but received a reduced sentence in the appellate court. Consideration was given to the fact that Mr. A, who cannot properly read or write Hangul, was unaware that he could obtain a driver's license through an oral test.

On the 25th, the Criminal Division 3-1 of Changwon District Court (Presiding Judge Hong Ye-yeon) sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted for violating the Road Traffic Act (driving without a license), to six months in prison with a two-year probation period, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency on the same day.

Mr. A was indicted for driving his passenger car without a license on a road in Jinhae-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam Province in September 2021, and for driving without a license three times until February last year. He was sentenced to six months in prison in the first trial.

[Image source=Pixabay]

Before this indictment, Mr. A had already been caught driving without a license six times and was sentenced to six months in prison with a two-year probation period in 2020. In other words, he was caught driving without a license again during the probation period.

The first trial court stated, “Driving without ever having obtained a license, rather than having a temporarily revoked license, poses a much higher risk,” and sentenced him to prison, citing that he repeated the crime without remorse.

The appellate court also stated, “Considering that he has already been punished six times for the same type of crime and repeatedly committed offenses during the probation period, there is a need for severe punishment.”

However, the second trial court gave probation, stating, “It is a mitigating factor that Mr. A could not properly read or write Hangul and was unaware that he could take the driving license test orally.” It also cited his reflection during a certain period of detention as a reason for the reduced sentence.