A man in his 30s who assaulted a designated driver, then drove drunk while the driver was caught on his car, killing him, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison.
The 12th Criminal Division of the Daejeon District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Kim Byung-man, sentenced the 35-year-old, identified as A, to 13 years in prison Wednesday on charges including murder. "The mere fact that the defendant does not fully remember the time of the crime makes it difficult to conclude that he did not accept the possibility of death," the court said. "At minimum, dolus eventualis for murder is recognized."
The court also rejected A's claim of mental incapacity, stating, "The defendant testified that he could not remember the circumstances of the crime because he had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol, but the results of the evidence review make it difficult to conclude that he was so intoxicated as to lack the ability to make decisions."
In explaining the sentence, the court said, "The defendant claimed he had no memory of the crime at all and showed signs of avoiding responsibility, failed to reach a settlement with the victim's bereaved family, and the family is pleading for severe punishment." It added, "Although it does not amount to diminished mental capacity, the crime appears to have been committed impulsively while intoxicated, and the fact that the defendant is a first-time offender with no prior criminal record was considered as a mitigating factor."
A was indicted on charges of killing B, a designated driver in his 60s, after pushing him out of the driver's seat on a road in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, at around 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 14 last year, then driving about 1.5 kilometers with the door open. At the time of the accident, the vehicle stopped only after crashing into a road guardrail. B, whose upper body had been pulled out of the car while entangled in the seatbelt, suffered severe head injuries and died. A's blood alcohol level at the time was 0.152%, indicating heavy intoxication.
B, who had worked as a designated driver for more than 10 years while raising two children alone, was reported to have gone out to work that day saying, "If I drive from Daejeon to Cheongju, I can earn 40,000 won," before meeting his tragic death.
A also faces charges of beating and verbally abusing B before the accident, enraged because B did not carefully cross a speed bump.
A admitted to the charges of assaulting a driver and drunk driving, but denied the murder charge, claiming he had no intent to kill as he was in a "blackout" state and could not remember due to excessive drinking.
Prosecutors had sought a 30-year prison sentence for A. When the verdict fell short of the requested sentence, the bereaved family appeared too shocked to speak. The family's lawyer expressed regret, saying, "The defendant has still not given a proper apology, yet the judge seems to have reduced the sentence too much from the requested term just because the defendant submitted a few letters of remorse. It is heartbreaking and disappointing. The family, too, seems to have been left speechless by this shocking conclusion." The lawyer said he would submit an appeal opinion to the prosecution.
