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Man allegedly drives drunk, kills Canadian national in Seoul

Published: 06 Nov. 2025, 13:18 Updated: 06 Nov. 2025, 19:27

The Seoul Gangnam Police Station is seen in this 2023 file photo. [YONHAP]

A man has been sent to prosecutors in custody after allegedly driving drunk and killing a Canadian national in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, police said on Thursday.

Police said the man, in his 30s, was driving under the influence around 9:40 p.m. on Oct. 25 when he struck two pedestrians who were crossing at a green light at an intersection in Nonhyeon-dong. His blood alcohol concentration was above 0.08 percent, the level for license revocation.

Officers referred him to prosecutors on Monday on charges of drunk driving and causing death by dangerous driving under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, the Gangnam Police Precinct said.

One of the victims, a Korean Canadian man in his 30s, went into cardiac arrest and later died at a hospital. A Korean woman in her 20s sustained serious injuries and is recovering.

Police also plan to refer a male passenger, also in his 30s, without detention on charges of aiding and abetting drunk driving for failing to stop the driver from driving. Officers had sought arrest warrants for both men, but only the driver’s was approved, police said.

In a separate case on Sunday, a Japanese tourist and her daughter were hit by a drunk driver while crossing a street near Dongdaemun Station in central Seoul’s Jongno District. The mother, in her 50s, died, and her daughter, in her 30s, was injured.

The Hyehwa Police Precinct said it requested an arrest warrant for the driver, a man surnamed Seo. A court approved the warrant on Wednesday, citing flight risk concerns.

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 JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]