◇ Disparity between law and actual punishment… Last year, only 15% of people were sentenced to prison for drunk driving.
If a person is injured or dies due to drunk driving, he or she may be subject to up to life imprisonment or 3 years or more in prison on charges of causing death under the Special Act on Traffic Accidents or on charges of causing death by dangerous driving under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
However, there are criticisms that the actual punishment is a ‘float one’ as the sentence is reduced depending on various factors such as whether the person has a similar criminal record, whether he or she surrenders and reflects, and the history of the drunk driver.
◇ The sentences for drunk driving are not low compared to major countries.
In France, for a first offense, a maximum fine of 135 euros (KRW 200,000) is imposed for offenses between 0.05% and 0.079%, and for offenses exceeding 0.08%, a fine of up to 4,500 euros (KRW 6.78 million) is imposed or two years in prison. Repeat offenders can be fined up to 9,000 euros (13.57 million won) or sentenced to four years in prison.
In the U.S. state of New York, cases of 0.18% or higher are subject to a fine of up to $2,500 (3.57 million won) or imprisonment for up to one year. If a person is caught twice or more with a level of 0.08% or higher within 10 years, he or she will be treated as a serious criminal and take measures such as disclosure of personal information and address, deprivation of voting rights, and disqualification of visa issuance.
In Germany, a fine of up to 500 euros (750,000 won) is imposed without imprisonment for those with a percentage of 0.05 or more but less than 0.11%, and repeat offenders are sentenced to a fine of 1,500 euros (2.26 million won) or imprisonment.
If a person is injured due to drunk driving, the penalty is up to life in prison in Washington State and up to 25 years in New York State. In the UK, the sentence can be up to 14 years in prison, while in Germany and France, it can be up to 5 years and 7 years in prison, respectively.
Although it is difficult to make simple comparisons as each country has different standards for drunk driving and regulations on violators, the report analyzed that Korea’s punishment is not lower than that of major countries when considering the maximum legal punishment.
◇ Derivative crimes such as ‘drinking’… “”Strict punishment and measures to prevent drunk driving must be expanded.””
Experts say that in order to eradicate drunk driving and related crimes, the only solution is to severely punish drunk drivers and ban habitual offenders from driving.
Hae-seong Yoon, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, said at a seminar on ‘Status and challenges of sentences related to drunk driving’, “There are limits to eradicating highly habitual drunk driving just by strengthening punishment,” and “It is desirable to attempt to fundamentally block drunk driving by combining license suspension and cancellation, strengthening surcharges, or implementing alcohol treatment programs.”
