Police confiscate vehicle of man who killed woman in DUI crash

Police cracking down on druken drivers at a school zone in Suwon, Gyeonggi, in April. [YONHAP]

Police officials in Osan confiscated the vehicle of a 25-year-old man, only identified as Lim, who killed a pedestrian while driving drunk late last month.

This marks the first time a drunken driver's vehicle has been confiscated since the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said, on June 1, it will begin seizing the vehicles of repeat DUI offenders and those who cause crashes.

According to the police, the vehicle was taken into custody along with Lim, who is charged with not only DUI but also hit-and-run.

Lim hit three people on a crosswalk near a post office in Osan, Gyeonggi, on June 27 at 1:40 p.m.

A woman in her 70s was taken to a hospital after being hit but died there.

The blood alcohol level of the driver was 0.2 percent, far exceeding the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

During his arrest warrant hearing, Lim reportedly told the court that he drank after getting off work in the morning.

Starting this month, vehicles of repeat DUI offenders who had been caught three times within the last five years and those who had been caught twice but caused serious injuries are to be seized by the authorities.

Additionally, vehicles driven by a drunk driver and injured or killed a person are also to be seized.

Last year, 24,261 people were injured in drunk driving accidents, an increase from 2021's 23,653. The number of people killed rose from 206 in 2021 to 214 last year.

Some 42 percent of drunk drivers caught last year were repeat offenders.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]