A taxi driver in his 70s who crossed the centerline and caused a crash that killed a Japanese infant passenger received a suspended prison sentence in the first trial.
According to legal sources on the 27th, Senior Judge Kim Hyeong-seok of the Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 5 on the 11th sentenced a man in his 70s, a person surnamed Kang, who was indicted on charges of death and injury under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, to two years in prison, suspended for three years. The court also ordered 40 hours of community service and 40 hours of a law-abiding driving course.
The court said that day, "The defendant exceeded the speed limit, crossed the centerline, caused a chain collision of vehicles, and led to the death of a passenger, making the crime grave."
However, the court explained the reasons for sentencing, noting that the bereaved family and victims did not want punishment, that Kang appeared to acknowledge wrongdoing and reflect, and that Kang had no criminal record of punishment more severe than a fine.
Earlier, at about 7 p.m. on Oct. 21 last year, Kang, while driving a taxi on a road in Yongsan District, Seoul, crossed the centerline and crashed into a passenger car coming from the opposite direction.
A Japanese couple in their 20s riding in Kang's taxi suffered serious injuries requiring 10 weeks and 12 weeks of treatment, respectively, and their 9-month-old daughter lost consciousness, was taken to a hospital, and died about a month later from ischemic brain injury.
A police investigation found that at the time of the accident, Kang was driving at nearly 100 km/h on a road with a speed limit of 50 km/h and, while attempting to slow down, pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.