Drunken Driver Gets 5 Yrs in S. Korea for Death of Japanese Woman

Seoul, May 13 (Jiji Press)--A South Korean court has sentenced a man to five years in prison for drunken driving that left a Japanese tourist in her 50s dead and her daughter in her 30s seriously injured in Seoul last year.

The ruling, handed down by Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday, came against a seven-year prison sentence demanded by public prosecutors. The court also ordered the confiscation of the man’s vehicle.

According to South Korean media, the district court said that the drunken driving led to irreversible consequences and that severe punishment is inevitable for the defendant.

In deciding the duration of the prison sentence, the court took account of the fact that the defendant has admitted to his charges of dangerous driving resulting in death and injury and paid settlement money to relatives of the victims.

The defendant caused the accident at a crosswalk near the Dongdaemun downtown area in the South Korean capital on the night of Nov. 2, 2025. He was driving a car after drinking three bottles of “shochu” spirits.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]