Drunk Driving Accident in February Causing Victim's Death
8-Year Prison Sentence in Second Trial... Supreme Court Dismissed Appeal
DJ Yesong (real name An Yesong, 24), who was charged with causing a fatal drunk driving accident in the heart of Gangnam, Seoul, has been sentenced to 8 years in prison.
On the 15th, Newsis reported that on the 10th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Lee Heung-gu) dismissed An's appeal against charges of causing death by dangerous driving under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, thereby confirming the original sentence of 8 years in prison.
The dismissal of the appeal means that, unlike a judgment rejecting the appeal on its merits, the reasons for the appeal did not meet the grounds for appeal as stipulated in the Criminal Procedure Act, and thus the appeal reasons themselves were not reviewed.
On February 3rd at around 4:40 a.m., An was driving in a state of severe intoxication in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, when the accident occurred. A delivery worker in his 50s who was hit by An’s car was transported to the hospital in cardiac arrest but ultimately died.
At the scene, An’s blood alcohol concentration was above 0.08%, the level for license cancellation. Prior to this accident, An had caused another traffic accident and was fleeing the scene. It was also revealed that immediately after the accident, An was holding a dog without providing aid to the victim, which sparked severe criticism.
The first trial court sentenced An to 10 years in prison. The court stated, “An did not take the measures required under the Road Traffic Act to protect the victim and left the accident scene,” and “acknowledged the intention to flee at the time.”
Both An and the prosecution filed appeals, and the second trial court reduced the sentence to 8 years considering An’s confession and the settlement with the victim.
An appealed again citing unfair sentencing, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, finding no grounds for it.
An is a well-known DJ who has gained recognition mainly in Gangnam and is active between Korea and China. Due to this accident, An was permanently expelled from a closed community exclusively for celebrities.
AlphaZ, a social media specialist company operating the closed community app ‘AlphaState,’ announced in February, “The perpetrator of the Gangnam Benz woman incident (DJ Yesong) was indeed a member of AlphaState,” and added, “After promptly verifying the facts, the account was deleted and permanently banned for violating community guidelines.”
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