▲ Soju bottle
A man in his 20s who engaged in retaliatory driving while intoxicated, attempted to obstruct a breathalyzer test using the soju-drinking tactic when police arrived, and then drove away while still drunk has ultimately been sent to prison.
Chuncheon District Court announced that Judge Jeong Jong-gun, presiding over Criminal Single Division 1, sentenced a man in his 20s, identified as A, to one year in prison. A had been indicted on charges of special intimidation, special property damage, obstruction of breathalyzer testing under the Road Traffic Act, and drunk driving.
According to the indictment, on the early morning of March 26, A was walking down a road in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, when he believed that another man in his 20s, B, glared at him through the window of his car. Enraged, A got into his vehicle and chased after B's car.
Over a stretch of about 1.1 kilometers, A repeatedly accelerated and decelerated abruptly, cutting off B dangerously and forcing B's vehicle to cross the centerline. A then cut sharply in front of the victim's vehicle as it tried to return to its lane, slamming on the brakes and causing a collision.
Immediately after the accident, A got out of his car and demanded that B come out. However, when police arrived, A ran to a nearby convenience store and bought a bottle of soju.
As he walked back to the accident scene, A drank the soju, shouting and swearing, "I drank because I was furious. What are you going to do about it?"
Having obstructed the breathalyzer test, A got behind the wheel and drove again once the accident scene was cleared, only to be caught with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.178%.
Judge Jeong explained the sentencing rationale, stating, "The nature of the crime is very poor, and his respect for the law is weak. The sentence was determined by taking into consideration that he admitted to his crimes and successfully reached a settlement with the victims."
(Photo: Courtesy of Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)
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