A man in his 40s who kept driving even while on his way to stand trial on drunk-driving charges has been sentenced to prison. He drove himself to court without a license, then got behind the wheel again after the hearing ended. The distance he covered without a license totaled 11 kilometers.
Judge Ahn Hee-kyung of the Seoul Eastern District Court's Criminal Division 3 on the 2nd sentenced Jung, 43, to seven months in prison on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act through unlicensed driving, legal sources said on the 18th.
Jung is accused of driving about 10 kilometers without a license at around 1:12 p.m. on March 26, from a road in Seoul's Seocho district to the parking lot of the Seoul Eastern District Court in Songpa district.
At the time, Jung was on his way to a criminal hearing after being indicted on drunk-driving charges. Even while heading to face judgment for driving under the influence, he drove his own car to the courthouse without a license.
Jung's unlicensed driving continued after the hearing. He drove from the court parking lot to an underground parking level four floors below a building in Songpa district, a distance of about 1 kilometer.
In total, investigators found that Jung drove 11 kilometers without a license on the way to and from his trial.
Jung also received a prison term in the drunk-driving case he attended that day. On May 7, he was sentenced to eight months in prison on those charges.
The court weighed heavily the fact that Jung reoffended despite prior punishments for drunk driving and unlicensed driving.
"Despite having been punished in 2021 and 2024 for drunk driving and unlicensed driving, the defendant drove a vehicle without a license while attending a criminal trial for drunk driving, which makes the offense extremely serious," the court said.
The court added that "it is reasonable to believe that the defendant repeatedly committed unlicensed driving offenses beyond this case."
The court did take into account that Jung admitted to the offense, among other mitigating factors. It said it also considered what the sentence would have been had this case and the drunk-driving case then pending against him been decided together.