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A heavily intoxicated passenger who pushed a designated driver out of the driver's seat and dragged him to his death while continuing to drive has had his 13-year prison sentence upheld on appeal.

The third criminal division of the Daejeon High Court, presided over by Chief Judge Kim Byeong-sik, on Tuesday dismissed appeals filed by both the defendant, identified only as A, 36, and prosecutors. A had been convicted at trial and sentenced to 13 years in prison on charges including murder.

A was indicted on charges of pushing designated driver B, a man in his 60s, out of the driver's seat while B was driving him along a road in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, at around 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 14 last year. With B's waist caught on the seatbelt, A drove approximately 1.5 kilometers over about one minute and 40 seconds, killing B.

A's blood alcohol level at the time was 0.152 percent — well above the threshold for license revocation.

B sustained severe head injuries and died after A repeatedly accelerated sharply and jerked the steering wheel, causing the vehicle to slam into guardrails and curbs.

Before taking the wheel drunk, A had already assaulted B and hurled abuse at him, enraged that B had not driven carefully enough over speed bumps.

At trial, A denied any intent to kill, saying he could not remember what happened because he had been drunk. The court nonetheless found him guilty, ruling that dolus eventualis — the recognition that death was a possible consequence — had been established, and sentenced him to 13 years.

Prosecutors appealed the sentence as too lenient, while A appealed it as too harsh. Both appeals were rejected.

The appeals court noted that A had confessed to all charges, including murder, during the appellate proceedings, but said the victim's family had repeatedly expressed a desire for a severe punishment. "In light of these circumstances, there is no change in sentencing conditions that would make it unreasonable to uphold the original ruling," the court said.


husn7@heraldcorp.com