Woman in Her 30s Drives Drunk at 178 km/h With Two Young Daughters, Causes Fatal Accident

Daejeon District Court Hongseong Branch Sentences Defendant to 12 Years in Prison
Victim Was a Groom-to-be in His 20s

A mother in her 30s has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in the first trial for causing the death of a motorcyclist while speeding and driving under the influence with her 4- and 6-year-old daughters in the car.

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According to Yonhap News on July 10, the Hongseong Branch of the Daejeon District Court, Criminal Division 3 (Presiding Judge Lim Huijae), sentenced Ms. A (38), who was indicted on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (hit-and-run resulting in death, failure to take measures after an accident), drunk driving, and violation of the Child Welfare Act (child abuse), to 12 years in prison. The court also ordered Ms. A to receive 80 hours of treatment related to child abuse.

Ms. A was indicted for driving a car while intoxicated at a speed of 178 km/h on a road in Hongbuk-eup, Hongseong County, South Chungcheong Province, at around 9:20 p.m. last January, crashing into a motorcycle ahead of her, fleeing the scene, and causing the death of the motorcyclist, Mr. B, who was in his 20s. At the time, Ms. A’s two young daughters were in the car. Prosecutors determined that Ms. A's conduct—exposing her children to danger by speeding while intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.211%, far above the license revocation threshold—constituted emotional abuse, and therefore applied the charge of child abuse. Ms. A drove at 178 km/h in a zone with a speed limit of 60 km/h, exceeding the limit by as much as 118 km/h.

Mr. B, the victim, was reportedly a groom-to-be who was heading home after work when the accident occurred. After causing the accident, Ms. A checked Mr. B’s condition but neither reported the incident nor took any action. Instead, she reportedly hurled insults at Mr. B and witnesses, saying things like, “Isn’t this your fault?” and “My kids were frightened,” refusing to acknowledge her responsibility. Ms. A claimed she was so intoxicated that she was unaware of the victim’s death and had no intention to flee, but the court did not accept this argument.

The court stated, “Given that Ms. A conversed with witnesses and others at the scene immediately after the accident, her overall behavior indicates that she was fully aware a traffic accident had occurred. When police and an ambulance arrived, Ms. A left the scene on foot without a word, and a witness noticed her leaving and tipped off the police, leading to her apprehension.” The court continued, “She drove recklessly while intoxicated, failed to provide assistance to the victim despite being able to do so, and even attempted to shift blame to others—her culpability is extremely grave. In particular, despite her duty to protect her children, she engaged in reckless drunk driving, inflicting considerable harm on their mental health and development. This, too, constitutes a serious crime,” the court explained as the reason for the sentence.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.