Friends of Zeng Yi-rin, a Taiwanese student who died in a drunk driving accident, hold a press conference on January 25 in front of the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, calling for violent punishment for the perpetrator. yunhap news
A man in his 50s, who was handed over to trial for killing a Taiwanese student in his twenties due to an accident while driving while drunk, was sentenced to eight years in prison, the maximum recommended sentence in the first trial.
On the 14th, judge Min Soo-yeon, who was solely responsible for criminal 26 of the Seoul Central District Court, sentenced Kim Mo (52), who was charged with violating the Act on aggravated punishment for certain crimes (dangerous driving death), to eight years in prison. After the Supreme Court’s sentencing committee enforced the’Yoon Chang-ho Act’, which strengthened the punishment for drunk driving, it was the largest sentence among the recommended sentences for dangerous driving fatality. This is higher than the sentence that the prosecution sought for Kim (six years in prison).
On November 6, last year, Kim was handed over to trial on charges of killing Zeng Yi-lin, a 28-year-old Taiwanese student, who had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.079% in the vicinity of Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. During the trial, Kim argued that “the lens for vision correction worn on the left eye momentarily turned to the side and blurred vision, so I could not see Zeng Yilin.”
However, the judiciary sentenced him to a heavy sentence, saying, “This accident caused the tragic consequences of the victim’s death at a young age, and it is difficult to count the shock, pain, and sorrow of the victim’s survivors who heard the news of the accident abroad.” The judge explained, “If you have poor eye health or poor vision, you should pay more attention to driving, but you are more likely to blame for driving after drinking alcohol.” The sentencing also reflected that Kim had a history of being punished twice for drunk driving in the past. However, the fact that Mr. Kim made efforts to recover the damage, such as apology to the bereaved and appointing a local lawyer in Taiwan to reach an agreement, was advantageously taken into account.
The parents of Zeng Yi-lin, a Taiwanese student who died in a drunk driving accident in November of last year, are expressing their position on the first trial ruling for the perpetrator. Provided by Zeng Yilin’s family
The case was made known when a friend of Zeng Yi-rin posted a message on the Blue House National Petition Bulletin, calling for a strong punishment against Kim. With more than 200,000 people participating in the petition, the police said, “Under the Yoon Chang-ho Act, you will be sentenced to life or more than three years in prison,” and announced a policy to respond strictly to the drunk driving accident.
Friends of Zeng Yi-rin, who watched the results of the sentence in court on the day, said, “It is fortunate that the sentence was sentenced to more than the prosecution’s oldest sentence,” but “It is a regrettable punishment compared to the maximum court sentence of life imprisonment.” Park Seon-gyu (29) said, “There is no comparison between the deceased’s loss of life and an eight-year prison sentence. As we have demanded strong punishment, disappointment remains.”
Zeng Yi-Lin’s father, Zeng Qinghui, also said in a video message to Korea, “I know that it is not common to sentence a higher sentence than the old sentence.” “My family was destroyed by Kim’s third drunk driving crime,” he said. “I hope this ruling will reduce drunk driving crime in Korea.”
Hyunjoo Lee reporter [email protected]
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