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Man appears in court for fatal DUI crash that killed two people in Incheon

Published: 18 Aug. 2025, 17:05 Updated: 18 Aug. 2025, 20:53

A smashed SUV on a four-lane road in Guwol-dong, Namdong District, Incheon, on the morning of May 8 [INCHEON FIRE SERVICES]

A 24-year-old man who drove drunk, unlicensed, and at nearly triple the speed limit before killing two people in a head-on crash appeared in court Monday.

At the first hearing at the Incheon District Court, prosecutors charged him with vehicular manslaughter under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

“The defendant was intoxicated and driving a Mercedes-Benz sedan at 135.7 kilometers [84.3 miles] per hour in a 50-kilometer-per-hour zone, against traffic,” prosecutors said. “He struck an SUV that was driving through a green light, pushing it into the median strip.”

The defendant’s lawyer admitted to the charges during the hearing.

A 24-year-old passenger who was indicted alongside the driver for aiding and abetting drunk driving also acknowledged the charges when questioned by the judge. The passenger was indicted for handing the driver the car keys, thereby facilitating the drunk driving.

The court agreed to continue the trial after the defendant’s lawyer requested more time to negotiate a settlement with the victims’ families.

The court questioned whether such a settlement was feasible. “Given the seriousness of the case, even additional time may be meaningless. Does the defendant have the means to settle?” The defense responded, “His parents are struggling financially, but they intend to make every effort.”

The crash occurred on the morning of May 8 in Guwol-dong, Namdong District, Incheon. The defendant was allegedly drunk and driving without a license when he struck an oncoming SUV, killing the SUV driver, a woman in her 60s, and a 20-something passenger.

Three other passengers in the defendant’s car — all in their 20s — were injured and received hospital treatment.

Authorities found that the SUV driver was on her way to pick up her son, a soldier on leave, when the collision occurred.

The defendant had previously been caught drunk driving and was under a license suspension at the time. A breathalyzer test at the scene showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.136 percent, far above the 0.08 percent legal threshold for license revocation.

He was also recently sentenced to two months in prison in a separate insurance fraud case.

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 JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]