The same fatal accident was caused by drunk driving... Maximum sentence is 30 years in Japan and 8 years in Korea = Korean report

In 2006, Imabayashi Futoshi, who worked as a city hall employee in Fukuoka, was drunk when he drove his car at 100 kilometers per hour and crashed into a car carrying a family of five.
Three children in the vehicle were killed and two parents were seriously injured. Imabayashi, who was concerned about losing his job, tried to switch drivers and destroy evidence rather than provide relief.
Hayashi was charged with professional negligence resulting in death and injury and sentenced to seven years and six months in prison, but in the second trial he was charged with dangerous driving and sentenced to 20 years in prison. This case has strengthened the punishment for drunk driving in Japan.
This was a decisive turning point for the law to become more widespread. In 2022, a 61-year-old driver was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the deaths of two children, ages 7 and 6, while drunk driving.
If a similar accident were to occur in Korea, how much punishment would the driver receive?
Jeong Kyung-il, head lawyer at the law firm L&L, said, "In the past six years, the maximum sentence for dangerous driving resulting in death in South Korea has been eight years in prison."
According to the sentencing guidelines, even if the offense is deemed to be an aggravating factor, the sentence is between four and eight years, so it is unlikely that the sentence will exceed this.
Japan has been keenly aware of this and has been strengthening its penalties for drunk driving, but there is a big gap in effectiveness. Japan has been strengthening its penalties for drunk driving in succession since the 2000s.
Since the Road Traffic Act was amended in 2001 to allow drunk driving offenders to be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison, there has been an increase in cases where courts have handed down heavy sentences of 20 years or more.
In 2007, new provisions were added that punish "passengers in a car engaged in drunk driving" and "those who provide alcohol," and these have been evaluated as having increased societal vigilance against drunk driving.
Yoon Hye-seong, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Criminal and Legal Policy Studies, said, "Japan has not stopped there. In 2014, it implemented the 'Automobile Driving Accident Punishment Law,'
"We have established a comprehensive legal system related to drunk driving," he said, adding, "Korea also needs to come up with a comprehensive plan to deal with traffic accidents caused by drunk driving, just like Japan."
In South Korea, the "Yoon Chang-ho Law" was enacted to eradicate drunk driving, but the system has not yet taken root.
As in the book, in actual cases, most first-time offenders are given suspended sentences, and even repeat offenders are almost always given only fines.
This is why it is said that traffic accidents caused by drunk driving cannot be eradicated. Chief attorney Jung said, "The penalties for dangerous driving resulting in death have become heavier since the Yoon Chang-ho Law was enacted."
They also point out that "there is still a prevailing perception that punishment is light."