A man in his 30s was fined 5 million won after being caught driving about 1 meter while intoxicated at a blood alcohol concentration level that warrants license cancellation.
He claimed, "I started the engine to turn on the air conditioner but accidentally touched the gear," but this excuse was not accepted.
Police conducting a drunk driving crackdown. (Not directly related to the article content) [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the 2nd, Cho Su-yeon, Chief Judge of Criminal Division 4 at Cheongju District Court, announced that A (37), who was indicted for violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving), was sentenced to a fine of 5 million won.
A was prosecuted for driving his passenger car about 1 meter in an alley in Jincheon-gun, Chungbuk, while intoxicated in the early morning of last July.
At that time, A's blood alcohol concentration was 0.125%, which is at the license cancellation level.
In court, A claimed, "I started the engine to turn on the air conditioner, but unknowingly touched the reverse gear, causing the vehicle to move," arguing that there was no intention to drive under the influence.
However, Chief Judge Cho stated, "Unless the side brake is released and the reverse gear is engaged, the vehicle would not have moved backward," and did not accept A's claim.
However, Chief Judge Cho explained the sentencing reasoning by considering "the very short driving distance and the fact that the driving act was not active."
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