A company employee accused of taking the wheel on the way to work while still hungover was fined 20 million won.
According to legal sources on the 5th, Presiding Judge Lee Jae-uk of the Ulsan District Court Criminal Division 3 handed a fine of 20 million won to a company employee in his 30s, identified as A, who was indicted on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act.
A drank until 3 a.m. in Feb. this year and was caught in a drunk-driving checkpoint on a road in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang, while driving to work in the morning. A's blood alcohol level at the time was 0.051%. A was found to have driven about 18 kilometers in this state.
A had previously received a suspended prison sentence for drunk driving, among other offenses. The prosecutor therefore asked the court to impose an actual prison term on A.
However, the court imposed a fine on A, taking into account that it was hungover driving and that the blood alcohol level was at the license suspension level (0.03% or more and less than 0.08%).
Regarding the reasons for sentencing, the court said, "To prevent recidivism, a prison term should be imposed, but the defendant is remorseful, and we considered factors such as being caught in the morning after drinking at dawn."