Dangerous driving causing injury, drunk driving

Violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes (dangerous driving causing injury) and violation of the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving)

If a drunk driving accident causes injury to a victim, the driver commits not only the crime of violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving) but also the crime of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents (causing injury) (hereinafter 'Traffic Accident Act violation') or the crime of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes (dangerous driving causing injury) (hereinafter 'Specific Crimes Act violation').

In most cases, the prosecutor indicts for a Traffic Accident Act violation, but if the driver was heavily intoxicated and judged to be in a condition that made normal driving difficult, he or she may be indicted for a Specific Crimes Act violation.

The statutory penalty for a Traffic Accident Act violation is relatively light: imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than 20,000,000 Korean won. In contrast, the statutory penalty for a Specific Crimes Act violation is very heavy: imprisonment for not less than 1 year and not more than 15 years, or a fine of not less than 10,000,000 Korean won and not more than 30,000,000 Korean won.

Therefore, when a drunk driving accident causes casualties, it is important to retain counsel from the early stages of the investigation to avoid being indicted for a Specific Crimes Act violation.

Recently, lawyer Joo Youngjae achieved a suspended sentence in a case involving a Specific Crimes Act violation (dangerous driving causing injury) and a Road Traffic Act violation (drunk driving). We will introduce that case.

Facts

In January 2020, the defendant (the client) drank with an acquaintance and drove his own car to return home. He rear-ended a taxi that was stopped at a traffic light, causing injuries to the taxi driver and a passenger, each requiring two weeks of medical treatment.

The defendant immediately took a breathalyzer test at the request of the police who arrived at the scene. His blood alcohol concentration was 0.156%, and he showed signs of severe intoxication, such as slurred speech and staggering.

Afterwards, the defendant was indicted for a Specific Crimes Act violation (dangerous driving causing injury) and a Road Traffic Act violation (drunk driving), and he came to lawyer Joo Youngjae.

Lawyer Joo Youngjae's assistance

Since the defendant admitted to the crime and was seeking leniency, lawyer Joo Youngjae collected and submitted as much favorable sentencing evidence as possible to obtain a suspended sentence. Among other things, lawyer Joo Youngjae actively emphasized that the defendant had no prior record of the same kind of offense, that he was sincerely remorseful, and that he had settled with the victims.

The court's ruling

The court accepted most of lawyer Joo Youngjae's arguments on sentencing and sentenced the defendant to a suspended prison term.

This ruling became final as both the prosecutor and the defendant waived appeal.