Calls mounting to punish driver of fatal DUI crash

A public petition calling for severe punishment for the driver responsible for a fatal DUI crash which occurred on Wednesday, in Eurwangni, Incheon, has gathered more than 360,000 signatures as of 2 p.m., Friday. / Screen capture from Cheong Wa Dae official website

By Lee Hyo-jin

Calls are mounting for law enforcement authorities to punish the driver of a fatal DUI crash, which occurred on Wednesday in Eurwangni, on Incheon's Airport Island. A man on his way to deliver fried chicken was killed in the accident.

A public petition posted Thursday on the Cheong Wa Dae website demanding the driver receive severe punishment has gained more than 360,000 signatures as of 2 p.m., Friday.

The public is now expecting a response from the presidential office as the petition has exceeded the number of signatures needed. The government is required to give an official response to a petition which gathers more than 200,000 endorsements within 30 days.

The accident occurred around 12:55 a.m., Wednesday, on a two-lane road in the island resort area, according to Incheon Jungbu Police Station.

A 33-year-old woman drove her Benz vehicle over the centerline, crashing into a 54-year-old man on a motorcycle. The critically injured man was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, but died shortly after. The police stated that the woman's blood alcohol level was over 0.1 percent, high enough to get her license revoked. The legal limit is 0.03 percent.

It was later revealed that the victim was the owner of a fried chicken restaurant in the neighborhood, on his way to the last delivery of the day.

The writer of the public petition, claiming to be the victim's daughter, elaborated on the incident and called for proper investigation and severe punishment.

“After the heavily drunk woman ran over my father, she tried to contact her lawyer on the site before calling 119. And the passenger in her car had the belt on his trousers unbuckled,” read the petition, asking for the highest level of legal punishment.

She also called for a thorough investigation stating that police had refused to provide her with some details of the accident. “They didn't tell me at what speed the 'murderer' was driving, nor did they allow me to see her face,” she wrote.

The police requested an arrest warrant for the driver on Thursday, and the Incheon Disctrict Court will decide on its approval by Friday. The police added that she will be charged against the Additional Punishment Law on dangerous driving, better known as the Yoon Chang-ho Act.

The revised traffic law, passed in 2018, was named after an army conscript who was killed by a drunk driver in Busan that year. Under the law, DUI offenders face up to at least three years in jail and up to life imprisonment when the accident results in death.