Cheongju Criminal Litigation Attorney Assistance Case | A Fine Imposed for Drunk Driving With the Assistance of a Cheongju Attorney

The client who came to the Cheongju criminal litigation attorney had been caught in a drunk-driving check and needed a defense in a lawsuit for violation of the Road Traffic Act.

The client did not usually enjoy drinking and had a low tolerance for alcohol.

Even at the company dinner on the day of the incident, the client drank only a very small amount of alcohol. After the gathering, he drank coffee, went to a karaoke room, and let a fair amount of time pass, so he thought he had sobered up to some degree.

He called a designated driver to get home, but no driver was available no matter how long he waited. Thinking he had fully sobered up, the client made a foolish split-second decision and drove while drunk.

The client, who was ultimately caught in a police drunk-driving check, came to the Cheongju criminal litigation attorney at Daeryun to defend the lawsuit.

■ Statutes Relevant to the Case, Explained by the Cheongju Criminal Litigation Attorney

◎ Road Traffic Act

▶ Article 44 (Prohibition of Driving While Intoxicated)
(1) No person shall drive a motor vehicle or the like, a tram, or a bicycle while intoxicated.
(2) Where a police officer deems it necessary for the safety of traffic and the prevention of danger, or where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a person has driven a motor vehicle or the like, a tram, or a bicycle while intoxicated in violation of paragraph (1), the officer may measure by means of a breath test whether the driver is intoxicated. In such a case, the driver shall comply with the officer's measurement.
(3) A driver who objects to the result of the measurement under paragraph (2) may, with that driver's consent, be measured again by a method such as a blood draw.
(4) The standard for the state of intoxication in which driving is prohibited under paragraph (1) is a blood alcohol concentration of the driver of 0.03 percent or higher.
(5) Necessary matters such as the methods and procedures for the measurements under paragraphs (2) and (3) shall be prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

▶ Article 148-2 (Penalty Provisions)
(3) A person who drives a motor vehicle or the like or a tram while intoxicated in violation of Article 44 (1) shall be punished as classified in the following subparagraphs.

1. A person with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.2 percent or higher shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two years but not more than five years, or by a fine of not less than 10 million won but not more than 20 million won.

2. A person with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher but less than 0.2 percent shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year but not more than two years, or by a fine of not less than 5 million won but not more than 10 million won.

3. A person with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.03 percent or higher but less than 0.08 percent shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than 5 million won.

The Cheongju criminal litigation attorney submitted the counseling opinion as reference material to argue that the client posed no risk of reoffending.

After the incident, the client voluntarily underwent psychological counseling, and the counseling opinion noted, among other things, that “on the alcohol-use stages-of-change scale the likelihood of improvement was measured as high, and the treatment-process indicators were favorable, so the therapeutic prognosis is judged to be good.”

On this basis, the Cheongju criminal litigation attorney at Daeryun submitted the counseling opinion as reference material and argued that the client posed no risk of reoffending.

The Cheongju criminal litigation attorney argued that the client was a first-time offender with no criminal record.

In addition, the attorney conveyed that many people around the client had written letters of appeal seeking leniency for him.

The client, who had committed drunk driving through a foolish split-second decision, was himself regretting and repenting most deeply.

The Cheongju criminal litigation attorney at Daeryun submitted, as reference material, the letters of appeal from those around the client seeking leniency, and emphasized that the client was a first-time offender with no criminal record.

The Cheongju criminal litigation attorney argued that the client's blood alcohol concentration at the time of the check was not greatly serious.

The client had a habit of leaving his car behind on days when he drank, and he had a constitution that could not handle alcohol well.

On the day of the incident, however, an urgent matter left him no choice but to bring his car, and a designated driver could not be reached that day.

The Cheongju criminal litigation attorney at Daeryun acknowledged that the client had made the foolish judgment that he must have sobered up because he had drunk coffee and gone to a karaoke room, but argued that the blood alcohol concentration at the time of the check was not greatly serious.

The client who came to the Cheongju criminal litigation attorney sought the assistance of a criminal attorney to defend the lawsuit for violation of the Road Traffic Act arising from drunk driving.

In response, Daeryun formed a working team of criminal attorneys with extensive experience in drunk-driving lawsuits and supported the lawsuit.

As a result, the court accepted the arguments of the Cheongju attorney at Daeryun and sentenced the client to a fine.

If you need a defense in a lawsuit for violation of the Road Traffic Act like the client above, you may come to the Cheongju attorney at Daeryun Law Firm.