The bereaved family of a woman killed in a drunk driving incident last year voiced their disapproval of the criminal punishment handed to the driver, who on Tuesday was sentenced to five years in prison.
According to Japanese media outlets, the family said punishment for drunk driving in Korea is too lenient. They also expressed suspicion that such crimes here have become routine.
The defendant, a man surnamed Seo in his 30s, was found guilty of death by dangerous driving, for which the Seoul Central District Court sentenced him to a five-year prison term and seizure of his vehicle. Seo ran over a woman in her 50s and her daughter in her 30s who were touring in Seoul on Nov. 2, killing the former and inflicting injuries on the latter.
"Seo disobeyed the traffic light and ran over the innocent mother and daughter crossing the road. His actions caused the irreversible damage of killing one of the victims, making severe punishment unavoidable," the court said in its ruling.
But the court said it took into consideration that Seo had financially compensated the victims.
Prison sentences for fatal traffic accidents range from at least three years in prison up to a life sentence, but it is rare for such crimes to be punished by more than 10 years in prison.
The Supreme Court's sentencing guideline states that dangerous driving leading to death is to be punished by two to five years in prison if no significant factors exist for lenient or aggravated punishment. Even in serious cases, the guideline advises four to eight years.
The issue of criminal punishment for injury and deaths via dangerous driving has been debated in Korea, as many members of the public see it as being disproportionately lenient.
The National Police Agency reported 10,351 drunk driving cases in 2025, down from 11, 307 in the previous year.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
