Passenger failing to block drunk driving to be punished

Passenger failing to block drunk driving to be punished. April. 25, 2016 07:13. by 박성민기자 min@donga.com.

Police and prosecutors have declared "eradiation of drunk driving" and decided to punish passengers who fail to block the driver from driving under influence despite knowledge about the driver’s drinking, and the bar owner who sells alcoholic beverage to the driver in spite of knowing the driver will drive drunk. A motorist who causes accident due to drunk driving or who gets caught at least five times within five years will have his or her vehicle forfeited if caught for drunk driving.

The Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office and the National Police Agency announced on Sunday "measures to toughen punishment for drunk driving and beef up crackdown," which will be implemented from Monday. The measures include toughening of punishment against a passenger and the bar owner who sells alcoholic beverage to a drunk driver, toughening of punishment against a drunk driver who causes death, and forfeiture of vehicles from habitual drunk drivers, among others.

The reason behind these measures is the authorities’ commitment to root out drunk driving by holding responsible not only drunk drivers but also those who prompt a driver into drunk driving or fails to block it. From 2002 to last year, a total of 96 passengers were indicted for aiding or abetting drunk driving, but 89 of them were only handed fines, while five of them were given stays of execution. No one was indicted for selling liquor.

Going forward, police plan to proactively investigate those who are suspected of aiding or abetting drunk driving from early days of their investigation. A passenger who hands over the car key to or invites the driver to drive despite knowing the driver is drunk will be punished as an accomplice or joint principal offender of an accident due to drunk driving. Someone who sells liquor to the driver even when it is difficult to hire a proxy driver or when the driver will inevitably drive the car is subject to disciplinary action as well.

A driver who causes death due to DUI will be punished by applying charges on par with murder. The driver will be investigated in custody in principle, and will be given at least three years in prison. When multiple people are killed, the driver will be sentenced to at least seven years in prison. “A drunk driver who causes an accident involving injury that requires treatment for at least four weeks will be subject to an official trial rather than a summary trial, even if the accident does not entail death, said ”Park Gyun-taek, chief of the criminal affairs department at the Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office.