A man in his 30s who drove drunk even while heading to a police station for questioning has been sentenced to prison after repeating the offense five times in two months.
The Ulsan District Court sentenced the man, identified only as A, to two years in prison for violating the Road Traffic Act through drunk driving and driving without a license, legal sources said on the 13th. The ruling was handed down by Senior Judge Bae On-sil, sitting as a single-judge panel in the court's first criminal division.
A was first caught in mid-July last year after driving about 8 kilometers in Ulsan's Buk District in the morning. His blood alcohol level was 0.164%, more than twice the 0.08% threshold for license revocation.
The offenses continued after that. In early August of the same year, A drove about 14 kilometers from Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, to Ulsan while heavily intoxicated. He was caught again after getting behind the wheel while on the way to a police station for questioning in the earlier case.
In early September, A crashed into a warehouse while driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.217%. Because his license had already been revoked, a charge of unlicensed drunk driving was added. He was also found to have driven while intoxicated again on the way home after dealing with the crash.
"The defendant was fully capable of recognizing the danger and illegality of his conduct, yet repeated drunk driving over a short period, showing little willingness to comply with the law or effort to prevent reoffending," the court said. "Given the significant social harm caused by habitual drunk driving, a prison term is necessary to prevent further offenses."
