A man in his 30s who hit a Japanese tourist mother and daughter with his car while drunk, killing the mother, has been arrested.
Jung Jae-uk, Director General judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, held a pretrial detention hearing (substantive warrant review) at 3 p.m. on the 5th for a person surnamed Seo, who is under suspicion of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (dangerous driving causing death or injury), among other charges, and issued an arrest warrant citing flight risk.
Appearing at court at 1:16 p.m. the same day, Seo answered "I'm sorry" to a reporter's question, "Do you have anything to say to the victim?" and entered the courtroom.
After finishing the review at 3:31 p.m., lowering the head, the person answered "I'm sorry" to a reporter's question, "Do you have anything to say to the bereaved family?" However, without answering what parts were explained, the person moved to board the transport vehicle.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office requested an arrest warrant from the court the previous day at the request of Seoul Hyehwa Police Station.
Seo is suspected of, around 10 p.m. on the 2nd of this month, driving about 1 kilometer while drunk and hitting a Japanese national tourist mother and daughter who were crossing the crosswalk at Heunginjimun Intersection in Jongno District, Seoul.
The mother and daughter were struck while they were moving to see the Naksan Park fortress trail in Jongno District after shopping at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Jung District, Seoul, on the day they arrived in Korea on a two-night, three-day itinerary from Osaka, Japan.
In the crash, the mother in her 50s lost her life, and the daughter in her 30s suffered injuries including a rib fracture as well as to her forehead and knees. The mother's body was turned over to the daughter the previous morning. Seo has admitted to the crime and conveyed to the victim's side the intention to pay the full expense of body transport and funeral expense.