Drunk driver sentenced to five years for fatal crash involving Japanese tourists in Seoul

Published: 12 May. 2026, 17:49

A drunk driver who struck a Japanese mother and her daughter while intoxicated in Seoul attends a pre-arrest interrogation hearing at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District on Nov. 5, 2025. [NEWS1]

 

A drunk driver who struck two Japanese tourists, killing one, at a crosswalk in central Seoul was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday and ordered to forfeit the Tesla he was driving at the time.

 

The defendant was convicted of dangerous driving, causing death, under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, along with related charges, in Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday.

 


 

“As a result of the defendant’s negligence, a mother died while her daughter suffered injuries requiring six weeks of treatment, producing irreversible consequences,” the court said. “Severe punishment is unavoidable.”

 

The court said it took into account that the defendant had admitted the crime, paid 350 million won ($234,000) in settlement and covered the deceased’s repatriation and funeral costs.

 

The bereaved family’s stated wish that he not be punished was also considered as a mitigating factor.

 

The driver was accused of consuming three bottles of soju before getting behind the wheel on the night of Nov. 2 last year and striking the Japanese mother and her daughter at a crosswalk near Dongdaemun Station in Jongno District, Seoul.

 

The mother, who was in her 50s, was taken to a hospital in an unresponsive state and pronounced dead. The daughter, in her 30s, suffered minor injuries.

 

The driver’s blood alcohol concentration at the time of the crash was 0.212 percent — well above the 0.08 percent threshold for license revocation under the Road Traffic Act.

 

The mother and daughter had arrived from Osaka, Japan, that same day on a three-day, two-night trip. They had been shopping at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung District, central Seoul, and were on their way to view the fortress trail at Naksan Park in Jongno District, central Seoul, when the crash occurred.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]