A group that got an acquaintance drunk, deliberately caused a traffic accident, and then threatened to report him for drunk driving to extort money and a foreign car has been sentenced to prison.
According to the legal community on the 26th, Kang Tae-gyu, senior judge of the single-judge Criminal Division 3 at the Cheonan branch of the Daejeon District Court, sentenced A, 28, who was indicted on charges including fraud, to 10 months in prison. B, 28, who committed the crime together, was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years.
A and others were put on trial on charges of extorting money and valuables from an acquaintance, C, by staging a "drunk-driving accident" in November 2024.
At the time, C was within a repeat-offense period for drunk driving, the investigation found. A's group targeted this and planned the crime after getting C to drink alcohol.
An accomplice then deliberately rammed the vehicle C was driving, causing a traffic accident. When the accident occurred, the group threatened C, saying in effect, "If you don't settle, we will report the drunk driving," and demanded 20 million won in settlement money.
Fearing the drunk driving would be reported, C ultimately handed over 8 million won in cash and the expensive foreign car he had been driving.
"They meticulously planned the crime in advance yet evaded responsibility and showed no remorse, making the possibility of blame significant," Judge Kang said.
