By Yi Whan-woo
The Seoul Northern District Court sentenced a habitual drunk surnamed Lee to two years in prison Tuesday for repeated violence against his neighbors.
The 48-year-old man became the first person to be tried for violence under the influence of alcohol since the city’s police pledged to take harsh measures against those who disrupt public order when drunk.
The ruling came after rising concern that citizens across the country are exposed to alcohol-related crimes.
Police have been criticized for being too lenient toward habitual drunks who pose a threat to their neighbors when out of control due to their level of intoxication.
Commissioner Kim Yong-pan of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency ordered the formation of a special investigation unit dealing with such violence in each of the 31 police stations in the nation’s capital when he took office on May 10.
Lee, a resident of Dongademun-gu, was taken into custody on May 14 after he damaged fittings and equipment at a local district office that morning after claiming that he should receive the same social benefits as disabled people.
The court said the man was found guilty 15 times of committing 69 alcohol-related crimes between 2010 and May this year and was fined or given short prison sentences. Lee’s infractions included sexual harassment and breaking into neighbors’ houses. He also broke into restaurants, pharmacies, hospitals, and stores in his neighborhood and threatened people there, according to the court.
“This man must be harshly punished because he did not make any effort to improve his behavior,” the court said. “The victims are still living in fear because of his violent acts and his deeds caused a great deal of harm to his community.”
Seoul Police showed in their latest research that they arrested 200 people between May 10 and July 17 for alcohol-related crimes.
Only one of them was female, and 160 of those arrested were jobless.