A 20-Year-Old Who Carried a Drunken Acquaintance and Caused Death by 'Thud'... Suspended Sentence Given

Seoul Western District Court Sentences to 6 Months Imprisonment and 1 Year Probation
Court Considers Victims' Families Do Not Wish for Punishment

A man in his 20s who was prosecuted for causing the death of an intoxicated acquaintance after falling backward while trying to put him down on the floor received a suspended prison sentence.

According to the legal community on the 6th, the Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 7 (Presiding Judge Ma Seong-yeong) sentenced 27-year-old A, who was indicted on charges of negligent homicide, to six months in prison with a one-year suspension.

On June 11 of last year, around 5 a.m., A and three others, including the victim B (28), drank alcohol in the Yongsan-gu area of Seoul. Later that day, around 10:10 a.m., they took a taxi to one of the group’s homes in Gangnam-gu.

After getting out of the taxi, A carried the heavily intoxicated B on his back and, upon arriving at the group’s home, tried to put B down on the living room floor but fell backward. B hit the back of his head on the living room floor and was treated in the intensive care unit for a closed skull fracture and traumatic subdural hemorrhage. He died eight days later from traumatic brain hemorrhage. As a result, A was prosecuted for negligent homicide causing B’s death.

Judge Ma explained, “When the defendant knelt down and released the victim’s hand while he was being carried, the victim’s head was about 1 meter above the living room floor and hit the floor with a loud ‘thud,’ which supports recognizing the defendant’s negligence.” He added, “However, in sentencing, consideration was given to the fact that A expected two colleagues present to help when putting B down, and that B’s family does not wish for A to be punished.”