73 Instances of 'Eating and Running' with Hi-Pass... The End of a Drug Offender?

[Financial News] A man in his 40s who used the Hi-Pass lane to avoid paying tolls on the highway dozens of times over a year has been sentenced to a fine.
According to the legal community on the 21st, the Seoul Eastern District Court Criminal Division 12 (Judge Kwak Yoon-kyung) sentenced real estate lessor Mr. Kim (46), who was indicted for the misuse of facilities, to a fine of 1 million won on the 15th.
Mr. Kim was brought to trial for passing through the Hi-Pass lane without inserting a payment card in the Hi-Pass device a total of 73 times from September 2022 to October 2023 at toll gates on the Seoul-Munsan Expressway located in Ilsan-dong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. The unpaid tolls and additional fees amounted to a total of 1,635,000 won.
In particular, it was found that during the period of illegal passage, Mr. Kim was also under investigation and trial for a separate drug crime. He was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison for violating the Narcotics Control Act by the Ulsan District Court in September last year and received a final judgment in December of the same year.
The court explained the reason for the sentencing, stating, "The defendant committed the crime of passing through the Hi-Pass without paying the toll 73 times during the repeat offense period, which is not light in nature," and "considered the balance with the sentence that would have been imposed if the defendant had been tried together with the crime for which a final judgment was received, as well as the defendant's age, environment, motive for the crime, and circumstances after the crime." 

yesji@fnnews.com Kim Yeji Reporter