Taxi Driver Involved in Moon Dahye Incident "Apologized Sincerely with a Handwritten Letter... Settlement Also Completed"

Mr. Moon Completes Criminal Settlement with Victim's Side
'Had No Time to Apologize... Sorry' Handwritten Letter Delivered
"Smelled Strongly of Alcohol and Couldn't Open Eyes Properly"

Former President Moon Jae-in and his daughter Moon Da-hye. [Source=Yonhap News]

Moon Da-hye (41), the daughter of former President Moon Jae-in, who is accused of drunk driving, has reportedly reached a settlement with the taxi driver who was the victim of the incident.

According to Channel A and the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul on the 16th, the taxi driver A, who was the victim of the drunk driving accident caused by Moon, accepted a settlement payment proposed by Moon's side and completed a criminal settlement. The police conducted a victim investigation of A on the 9th, and it is known that Moon's legal representatives requested a meeting to arrange a criminal settlement with A. Although A did not meet Moon face-to-face, he received a handwritten apology letter through the lawyer, stating, "I was not in a position to apologize at the time of the accident. I am truly sorry." A submitted an estimate for vehicle repair costs of about 3.2 million won to the police and decided not to issue a medical injury certificate. Accordingly, Moon is likely to be punished only for violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving) rather than for reckless driving causing death or injury under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

In an interview with Channel A, A explained the situation at the time, saying, "(Moon) could not speak clearly because her tongue was twisted. There was a strong smell of alcohol, and she could barely open her eyes properly." He added, "When I asked, 'What should we do about this?' she replied, 'What do you want to do?' Since we could not have a proper conversation, I went to call the police who were controlling traffic at the scene." He continued, "(Moon) cooperated with the breathalyzer test by blowing into it about twice," and added, "The vehicle driven by Moon at the time of the accident was traveling at about 40 to 50 km/h. If she had hit a person instead of my car, it could have been a serious accident."

Earlier, on the 5th at around 2:51 a.m., Moon was driving her Casper vehicle in front of the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, when she changed lanes without using the turn signal and collided with a taxi following behind. Moon's blood alcohol concentration at the time was 0.149%, which is above the license cancellation level (0.08%), and it was confirmed that there were no passengers in the car. The police are currently coordinating the schedule for the suspect investigation with Moon's side and are also considering a witness investigation of the companions who drank with her.