Driver Who Hit a High School Senior at 111 km/h While Drunk Driving Receives Reduced Sentence in Appeal... Why?

7-Year Prison Sentence in First Trial Reduced to 5 Years on Appeal
"Compensation Paid to Bereaved Family... No Desire for Punishment"

A man in his 20s who fled after causing a fatal accident by hitting a high school senior while speeding and driving under the influence received a reduced sentence in the appellate court.

On the 11th, the Changwon District Court Division 3-1 (Chief Judge Oh Taek-won) overturned the original sentence of 7 years in prison and sentenced the defendant, a man in his 20s identified as A, to 5 years in prison in the appellate trial on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (hit-and-run causing death), according to Yonhap News Agency.

Gyeongnam Changwon District Court. Photo by Se-ryeong Lee

A was prosecuted for speeding while heavily intoxicated around 5:28 a.m. on January 1 on a road in Tongyeong, Gyeongnam, hitting a teenager, B, who was crossing a crosswalk, and fleeing the scene. As a result of the accident, B suffered a severe head injury and died at the scene. It was found that A’s vehicle speed at the time of the accident was 111 km/h, more than twice the speed limit of 50 km/h. Additionally, A’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.104%, which was above the license cancellation threshold.

After the accident, A fled without helping B and even crashed into a pedestrian protection fence on the road. Later, A discarded the vehicle’s black box and his mobile phone in a flower bed near an apartment complex close to the accident site, and about 30 minutes after the accident, he surrendered himself at a nearby police station. During the first trial, A claimed a sentence reduction due to surrender, but the court did not accept this. The first trial court sentenced him to 7 years in prison, stating, "Although the victim’s family reached a settlement, considering the nature of A’s crime, the circumstances of the case, and the fact that the victim was a high school senior about to enter university, a severe punishment is unavoidable."

The appellate court stated, "The nature of the crime is very serious, making a severe punishment inevitable," but explained the reason for the reduced sentence by saying, "However, considering that insurance money and settlement payments were made to the bereaved family, that the family does not wish for punishment, that A confessed to the crime himself, that this is his first offense, and that the discarded mobile phone and black box were submitted to the investigation authorities through his family, the original sentence was somewhat heavy."