Drunken driver kills two: Police

A drunken driver killed two people who were trying to get a cab and injured four others in the heart of Gangnam, southern Seoul, yesterday morning.

Police are seeking an arrest warrant for the driver, surnamed Kim.

According to Seocho Police Station, the 27-year-old suspect was driving about midnight yesterday at the intersection in front of Wooseong Apartment in Seocho District headed toward Gangnam Station.

The two salarymen, identified as Kim, 29, and Jeon, 36, were killed while trying to get in a taxi.

The accident was caught on a black box installed on one of taxis at the scene of the accident. The video showed the two victims thrown high into the air after being hit and falling back onto the road.

The sedan raced about 20 (65 feet) to 30 meters and only stopped when it collided with another vehicle.

Police investigation determined that the driver, who works for a bank, had been drinking at his company’s year-end party.

Kim’s blood-alcohol level was 0.182 percent, high enough to lose his driver’s license.

On the day of the accident, police had been carrying out a large-scale crackdown on drunken driving. Kim, however, was not caught by police during the time that he drove 1 kilometer from the Nambu Bus Terminal Station area.

According to police, there are many apartments and bars concentrated in the area where the accident occurred. Since it is hard to flag a taxi in the dead of night, many people go into the roadways.

“There is a high risk of being exposed to an accident when people go out into the streets,” said a police officer.

“People have to pay particular attention at the end and beginning of a year when there are a lot of gatherings involving drinking alcohol.”

By Song Ji-hye [enational@joongang.co.kr]