”Victims will suffer for the rest of their lives... The maximum sentence under the Traffic Accident Special Law should be raised to 10 years” - South Korean media

Traffic accidents caused by drunk driving have become such a serious social problem that they are being called "random murders," and Korean people are becoming very strict about the law.
Looking at the actual legal penalties for traffic accidents caused by drunk driving, the crime of dangerous driving resulting in death or injury (Yoon Chang-ho Law) in Article 5, Section 11 of the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Certain Crimes was applied.
In the case of causing death, the offender will be sentenced to life imprisonment or imprisonment for more than three years, and in the case of causing injury, the offender will be sentenced to imprisonment for more than one year and up to 15 years or a fine of 10 million won (approximately 1,087,000 yen) to 30 million won.
However, if the Traffic Accident Special Law is applied, the maximum sentence for causing death is five years in prison or a fine of 20 million won (approximately 3.26 million yen).
The only punishment is a fine of up to 2,174,000 yen. Furthermore, according to the Supreme Court's sentencing guidelines, which are used as a reference when deciding on sentences in courts, the basic type is imprisonment for 8 months to 2 years, or
Even if the offender is found guilty of aggravating circumstances, the sentence will be reduced to one to three years in prison. Looking at actual cases, many cases were given suspended sentences because the offender settled the case after causing the death of a person in a traffic accident caused by drunk driving.
This means that the punishment for a traffic accident caused by drunk driving is light. As mentioned above, if a traffic accident occurs while the person is unable to drive normally due to drinking, the person is more likely to be in a dangerous position.
If the case is prosecuted as a simple case of drunk driving, the Special Law on Traffic Accidents will be applied.
Even if a fatal accident occurs, the statutory penalty is limited to imprisonment of five years or less, and the Supreme Court's sentencing guidelines are applied, so in the end only a light punishment is given.
In order to correct this "leniency" in the Special Law on Traffic Accidents, a new crime called dangerous driving resulting in death or injury was created.
Problems with the Traffic Accident Special Law remain. First, the Traffic Accident Special Law does not allow for cases where there are many casualties or where the driver's gross negligence is equivalent to indiscriminate murder.
The maximum statutory penalty is five years in prison. If the offense falls under the offense of dangerous driving resulting in death or injury, but the investigative agency is unable to prove that the driver was drunk, the Special Act on Handling Traffic Accidents will apply.
Therefore, the statutory penalty under the Traffic Accident Special Law should be increased from 5 years to 10 years in prison, and the legal gap between traffic accidents caused by drunk driving and dangerous driving resulting in death or injury should be eliminated.
The standard for traffic accidents caused by drunk driving is set at a blood alcohol concentration of 0.03% or more, so there are cases where drivers flee in order to hide the fact that they have been drinking.
Currently, the crime of refusing to take a breathalyzer test is only applicable if the driver does not comply with a police officer's request to take a breathalyzer test. However, this scope will be expanded to include cases where the driver flees the scene, and traffic violations due to drunk driving will be considered as refusal to take a breathalyzer test.
The law needs to be supplemented so that it can be punished as a result of the accident. When the Traffic Accident Special Law was enacted in 1982, drunk driving was one of the eight major types of serious negligence that were subject to criminal punishment, and it is still one of the 12 major types of serious negligence.
However, the statutory punishment of up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won is far below the current public sentiment.
The crime of causing death or injury in a child protection area was enacted. Instead of creating a special law every time a problem occurs, we need to fix the problems in the Traffic Accident Special Law and prevent drunk driving from happening in the first place.
The author, who mainly represents victims of traffic accidents, believes that while drunk drivers should be punished appropriately, he also believes that victims should not have to endure the prison of physical pain for the rest of their lives due to injuries sustained in traffic accidents.
I feel this is unreasonable and strange when I see people suffering the pain of their lives being violated by death after spending so much time in a car accident. I think the Traffic Accident Law needs to be revised so that appropriate punishment can be given to those who commit drunk driving.
It is necessary.