According to the principle, the sentence Kim Sae-ron should have received for 'drunk driving' is

Prosecutors Request 20 Million Won Fine to Court
Legally Possible Up to 30 Million Won
If Imprisonment Chosen, Maximum Sentence Could Be 7 Years and 6 Months

There are claims that the prosecution's request for a fine is too lenient regarding actress Kim Sae-ron, who was brought to trial on charges of driving under the influence and crashing into roadside trees while intoxicated.

On the morning of the 8th, at a trial held under Judge Lee Hwan-gi of the Criminal Division 4 at the Seoul Central District Court, the prosecution requested a fine of 20 million won for Kim Sae-ron, who was indicted for violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving and failure to take action after an accident). At the time of the accident, Kim Sae-ron's blood alcohol concentration was 0.227%, significantly exceeding the license cancellation threshold of 0.08%.

Actor Kim Sae-ron, who caused an accident last May by hitting a street tree and a transformer while driving under the influence, is attending the first trial session held on the morning of the 8th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Online, there are arguments that the prosecution's request is too light. Drunk driving is close to a potential act of murder, and a fine of 20 million won is considered too detached from the public's sense of justice.

It can be said that the prosecution did not request the maximum sentence for Kim Sae-ron. The charge of drunk driving applied to Kim Sae-ron is punishable under current law by imprisonment of up to 6 years or a fine between 10 million and 30 million won. The charge of failure to take action after an accident carries a penalty of imprisonment up to 5 years or a fine up to 15 million won. In cases of multiple offenses, the principle of cumulative sentencing applies, increasing the upper limit of the basic offense of drunk driving by 1.5 times. However, the total fine amount cannot exceed the sum of the maximum fines stipulated in each legal provision.

However, the current law was amended in January and is set to take effect in July, so it does not apply to Kim Sae-ron. She caused the accident in May of last year. At that time, the Road Traffic Act stipulated that drunk driving was punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine up to 20 million won, and the penalty for failure to take action after an accident was the same as now. Therefore, under the Road Traffic Act at that time, if the prosecution chose a fine, the range would be between 10 million and 30 million won. If imprisonment were requested, a sentence of up to 7 years and 6 months could be sought.

The prosecution explained the reason for the request, stating, "The defendant is a first-time offender and has made efforts to compensate the victims by reaching settlements." After the prosecution's request, Kim Sae-ron's lawyer said in the final argument, "The defendant is a young head of household, and not only she but also her family is suffering from financial hardship due to this case," adding, "It is believed that the prosecutor took these circumstances into consideration when requesting the fine."

The court's decision will be announced on the morning of the 5th of next month. It is customary for the court's sentence to be lower than the prosecution's request. If the sentence is equal to or higher than the prosecution's request, it is considered unusual. In her final statement, Kim Sae-ron said, "I am truly remorseful," and "I will make sure this never happens again."