Struck Police Officer and Fled While Unlicensed... Foreign Student Sentenced to One Year in Prison

Sentenced After Public Notification Due to Evasion Following Unlicensed Driving Arrest
Court: "Undermining Public Authority... Strict Punishment Needed"

A foreign student who struck a police officer and fled the scene after being caught driving without a license has been sentenced to prison by the court.

According to a report by Yonhap News on January 18, the Chuncheon District Court's Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Song Jonghwan) sentenced a 27-year-old foreign student, identified as A, to one year in prison on charges of obstructing the performance of special official duties.

In February of last year, A was caught by police officers patrolling in a vehicle while riding a motorcycle and violating a traffic signal in downtown Chuncheon. When the officer requested A's driver's license, A suddenly accelerated the motorcycle, struck the officer, and fled the scene. After being indicted, A cut off contact and failed to respond to court summons. The court proceeded with the sentencing in A's absence through the public notification procedure.

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Public notification is a procedure in which delivery is deemed to have been made through official gazettes or similar means when the defendant refuses to receive documents or their whereabouts cannot be confirmed. Judge Song pointed out, "Crimes that obstruct the legitimate exercise of public authority undermine the national legal order and therefore require strict punishment."

However, he explained the sentencing by stating, "The degree of injury suffered by the police officer does not appear to be severe, and there is no record of prior offenses in Korea, which were taken into consideration."

On January 8, another case occurred in which an undocumented foreign national was handed over to the prosecution after fleeing from a police checkpoint while driving without a license. At that time, the 1st Mobile Patrol Unit of the Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency referred a Vietnamese man in his 30s without detention on charges including violation of the Road Traffic Act and the Automobile Damage Compensation Guarantee Act. He was accused of driving without a license near the terminal area in Soheul-eup, Pocheon City, on November 8, 2025.