Prosecutors Add Charges Through Investigation
"Drunk Driving at License Revocation Level"
The driver involved in the hit-and-run fatal accident with a Maserati in Gwangju has been additionally charged with drunk driving. Previously, applying the Widmark formula to estimate blood alcohol concentration showed levels below the legal limit for drunk driving, so charges could not be applied. However, the prosecution was able to add the charge through further investigation and bring the case to trial.
Maserati driver involved in a 'hit-and-run fatal accident' being sent to prosecution [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the 23rd, the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office announced that they have indicted driver Kim (32) on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (hit-and-run causing death and injury), violation of the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving), and aiding a criminal, and also indicted Oh (33) on charges of aiding a criminal, both under detention, in connection with the Maserati hit-and-run fatal accident that occurred in Seo-gu, Gwangju, in the early morning of last month’s 24th.
At around 3:11 a.m. on the 24th of last month, Kim was driving a Maserati while intoxicated when he collided with a motorcycle on a road in Hwajeong-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju. He fled the scene without providing aid. The motorcycle driver, who worked for a delivery service company, was seriously injured, and his 20-year-old female passenger, his partner, died. Immediately after the accident, Kim fled alone in the Maserati, which was registered under a corporate name and had been handed to him by an acquaintance senior. He evaded capture by moving through Daejeon, Incheon, and Seoul before being urgently arrested by police in Seoul and detained. During his escape, he attempted to flee abroad by boarding a flight to Thailand but canceled two tickets, likely due to concerns that he was already subject to an exit ban.
Kim had admitted to drunk driving during police questioning. He stated, “I drank alcohol and fled because I was scared of the police sirens,” but when the police applied the Widmark formula to retrospectively calculate his blood alcohol concentration over time, it was measured below the enforcement threshold of 0.03%, so the drunk driving charge was not initially applied.
After receiving the case from the police, the prosecution conducted supplementary investigations including searches of his residence, tracking bank accounts, and analyzing communications and video footage. They confirmed that Kim had consumed at least two bottles of soju in three separate instances before driving the vehicle. Based on this, applying the Widmark formula, they confirmed that Kim was driving with a blood alcohol concentration at the license cancellation level and added the drunk driving charge.
Separately from the hit-and-run case, the police and prosecution are investigating suspicions that Kim was involved in illegal online gambling overseas, including in Thailand, where he attempted to flee.
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