CONTENTS
- 1. Riding Along with a Drunk Driver, the Detailed Circumstances
- - Riding Along with a Drunk Driver, the Relevant Statutes
- 2. Riding Along with a Drunk Driver, the Court's Determination
- 3. Riding Along with a Drunk Driver, Daeryun's Strategy
1. Riding Along with a Drunk Driver, the Detailed Circumstances
The detailed circumstances of the trial concerning the punishment of a passenger who rode along with a drunk driver are as follows.
After drinking at a gathering with friends, A drove the taxi he operates with B and C aboard.
At the time, A's blood alcohol concentration was 0.045%, which clearly constituted drunk driving, and while in that state he repeatedly sped and violated traffic signals, eventually being caught by the police.
Accordingly, B and C were charged with aiding and abetting drunk driving on the suspicion that they had known of A's drunk driving yet allowed it to continue.
Riding Along with a Drunk Driver, the Relevant Statutes
The provisions punishing those who ride along with a drunk driver have been in force since 2016. The point is that punishment is not limited to the person actually operating the vehicle; a person who knew the driver had been drinking yet left the matter alone may also bear responsibility.
🔗Riding Along with a Drunk Driver is subject to the crime of aiding and abetting under the Criminal Act.
“Aiding and abetting” refers to making another person's criminal act easier, even without directly committing the offense oneself.
Accordingly, not only the drunk driver but also a person who facilitated or encouraged the conduct cannot avoid punishment.
▣ Article 32 of the Criminal Act (Accessories) (1) A person who aids and abets the commission of a crime by another shall be punished as an accessory. (2) The punishment of an accessory shall be mitigated below that of the principal offender. |
The cases that may constitute aiding and abetting drunk driving are as follows.
✓ Riding along while knowing that the driver was intoxicated
✓ Inducing or conspiring in the drunk driving
✓ Directly handing over the car keys
✓ Aiding and abetting the drunk driving of a subordinate employee
✓ Encouraging or selling alcohol at a place where designated-driver service is unavailable
✓ Providing alcohol even though drunk driving was sufficiently foreseeable
🔗Punishment of a Passenger Who Rode Along with a Drunk Driver varies in severity depending on the passenger's conduct.
✓ Where the passenger actively assisted
Where a passenger in a drunk-driving vehicle actively urged or encouraged the driver's drunk driving, the passenger faces imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 10 million won.
✓ Where it amounts to mere aiding and abetting
Even without having encouraged the drunk driving, if the passenger knew that the driver was intoxicated, the passenger faces imprisonment for up to one year and six months or a fine of up to 5 million won.
2. Riding Along with a Drunk Driver, the Court's Determination
In the trial concerning riding along with a drunk driver, the district court imposed a fine of 2 million won on B, while it acquitted A.
The reasons the two judgments diverged are as follows.
At the time of the incident, A had drunk three to four bottles of soju and was in a state of insensibility, and he boarded the taxi while being led by C. The court confirmed that, even after boarding the taxi, A had not been aware that C was driving while intoxicated.
By contrast, it came to light that B had been seated in the front passenger seat and had even responded to C's reckless driving with laughter and approval.
The court held, “Because A, in a heavily intoxicated state at the time of the incident, committed no act of assisting or aiding and abetting C's drunk driving, the intent to aid and abet was not proven.”
3. Riding Along with a Drunk Driver, Daeryun's Strategy
In the case of riding along with a drunk driver, if a person rode along in the vehicle while knowing that the driver had been drinking, this clearly constitutes the crime of aiding and abetting drunk driving.
However, as in the case above, where the passenger was entirely unaware that the driver was intoxicated, an acquittal may be obtained.
That said, because the scope for recognizing the crime of aiding and abetting drunk driving is broad, rather than relying on emotional appeals and responses, it is important to obtain the assistance of an attorney experienced in such matters and to gather and submit objective evidence that the passenger did not know about the drinking.
The 🔗Drunk Driving and Traffic Accident Response Group of Daeryun Law Firm LLP works together with the Evidence Investigation Group and the Consultation Group to help clients facing similar cases respond in a systematic legal manner, so you are welcome to request a legal consultation at any time.
▶ A Case in Which a Client Charged with Aiding and Abetting Drunk Driving Obtained a ‘Non-Disposition’ (a Korean juvenile-court decision imposing no protective disposition)
