A man in his 30s who used his brother’s resident registration number to evade punishment after a habitual drunk driving accident has been imprisoned. The court ruled, "The nature of the crime is extremely malicious, making strict punishment unavoidable."
A court has handed down a prison sentence to a man in his 30s who caused an accident while driving drunk without a license and subsequently stole his younger brother’s personal identification details to evade investigation and punishment. The judiciary issued a stern ruling on his actions, noting that he got behind the wheel again despite having multiple prior convictions for drunk driving and boldly impersonated another individual to obstruct justice.
According to legal sources on the 23rd, Judge Park Kwang-min of the Criminal Division 1 of the Cheongju District Court sentenced the defendant, a man in his 30s referred to as "A," to one year and six months in prison. A had been arrested and indicted on multiple charges, including violations of the Road Traffic Act (Drunk Driving and Unlicensed Driving) and the Resident Registration Act, as well as forgery and uttering of private documents.
According to the ruling, the incident dates back to May 9 of last year. Defendant A was driving his SUV without a valid license on a road in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, when he rear-ended a vehicle traveling ahead of him. The collision caused injuries to the driver of the victim's vehicle, requiring two weeks of medical treatment for bruises and sprains.
When police officers dispatched to the scene conducted a breathalyzer test, A’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was found to be 0.126%, well over the license revocation threshold of 0.08%. Furthermore, his license had already been revoked due to previous drunk driving offenses, meaning he was operating the vehicle entirely without a license.
The situation escalated further due to A's actions following the crash. Fearing aggravated punishment and a potential prison sentence, A provided his younger brother's name and resident registration number instead of his own when officers demanded identification. He persisted with this deception not only at the scene of the accident but also during the initial stages of the police investigation, even signing official documents under his brother's name. However, his fabrication was eventually uncovered during a routine identity cross-check by law enforcement.
A subsequent investigation into A's criminal history revealed a highly problematic pattern. He was found to be a habitual offender with three prior convictions specifically for drunk driving offenses.
In delivering the verdict, Judge Park Kwang-min severely criticized the defendant's moral hazard and the gravity of his offenses. "The defendant was well aware of the dangers and illegality of drunk driving due to his multiple past convictions. Despite this, he chose to drink and drive without a license once again, resulting in injuries to another person," Judge Park stated.
The judge further emphasized, "Instead of reflecting on his wrongdoing immediately after the accident, the defendant illegitimately used his younger brother’s personal identity details to deceive law enforcement and evade criminal liability. This act constitutes a grave obstruction of the state’s legitimate exercise of judicial power, and the nature of the crime is profoundly malicious. Therefore, a prison sentence is unavoidable to deter repeated offenses and uphold judicial order."
Legal experts view this ruling as a clear warning that attempts to forge identity or impersonate others during traffic stops carry severe criminal consequences that go far beyond the scope of a standard DUI offense. A legal analyst commented, "Recently, courts have been applying zero-tolerance standards to repeat DUI offenders. In particular, identity theft aimed at evading law enforcement is treated as a major felony that paralyzes the nation's criminal justice functions, leading to heavily aggravated sentences."
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