In July of last year, the driver involved in the 'Seoul City Hall Station Wrong-Way Driving Accident,' which resulted in 9 deaths, was sentenced by the police to 7 years and 6 months in prison.
A vehicle completely destroyed in a major traffic accident near City Hall Station. Photo by Yonhap News
On the 15th, at the sentencing hearing of Cha Mo (69) held at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 1 presided over by Chief Judge Lee Chun-geun, the prosecution made this request.
The prosecution stated, "Lives were lost in an everyday space, and the bereaved families are living each day in pain," adding, "Nevertheless, the defendant continues to deny the crime, shows no remorse, and has a poor attitude." They continued, "Considering the severity of the crime, the extent of the damage, and the victims' calls for strict punishment, a heavier sentence would be appropriate; however, since the statutory maximum penalty is 7 years and 6 months, we are requesting this sentence."
The statutory maximum penalty refers to the range of punishment concretized by applying the legally prescribed sentence to specific criminal facts, including legal and judicial aggravating or mitigating factors. In other words, in this case, considering legal aggravating factors, the maximum punishment range is interpreted as 7 years and 6 months.
Cha is accused of driving a car out of the underground parking lot of the Westin Chosun Hotel near City Hall Station in Jung-gu, Seoul, at around 9:26 p.m. on July 1 last year, driving the wrong way and crashing onto the sidewalk, resulting in 9 deaths and 5 injuries.
He consistently claimed sudden unintended acceleration immediately after the incident, but the prosecution judged the accident to have been caused by mistakenly pressing the accelerator pedal.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
