The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday sentenced a drunk driver who struck and killed a Taiwanese student to eight years in prison, two years longer than prosecutors sought in a decision that South Korean media called rare.
Doctoral student Elaine Tseng (曾以琳), 28, was on her way home from a professor’s residence in Seoul on Nov. 6 last year when she was killed by a drunk driver after he ran a red light at a pedestrian crossing.
Prosecutors were seeking a six-year sentence for the 52-year-old driver, surnamed Kim, which is longer than usual for similar drunk driving cases in South Korea.
However, the court on Wednesday handed down an even harsher sentence, which Yonhap news agency said was even more unusual.
The court said it based its decision on the driver’s record, as he already had two drunk driving convictions, and that he killed a pedestrian who was following traffic rules after he ran a red light.
It also considered the defendant’s hiring of a local lawyer to handle compensation, it added.
Although he pled guilty, Kim had requested leniency, saying he could not see Tseng crossing the road because the contact lens in his left eye had slipped out of place and he could not wear one in his right eye due to a recent surgery.
However, the court said it made the defendant’s actions even more deserving of condemnation, as it should have made him more careful when driving.
Even though the sentence was harsher than expected, Tseng’s friends told Yonhap that it is still a far cry from the maximum life sentence afforded under the law.
Only by strengthening penalties could drunk driving be stopped, Tseng’s lawyer told the news agency.
“How can eight years take the place of 28?” Tseng’s mother, Shih Yu-ching (石宇慶), told reporters, saying that a ruling cannot return her daughter’s life.
Shih said she was dissatisfied with the ruling, but thanked everyone who has helped their family during this difficult time.
After the incident, Shih and her husband, Tseng Kin-fui (曾慶暉), launched a petition through the Blue House Web site calling for more severe drunk driving punishments.
The petition passed the 200,000 signatures required for a response within five days.
Korean National Police Agency Deputy Commissioner-General Song Min-hun in a video message on Dec. 7 last year conveyed his condolences to Tseng’s family and friends, and vowed that the culprit would be sentenced to three years to life in prison under South Korean law on drunk driving, which was toughened in 2019.
Additional reporting by Lin Yi
-chang
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