"It'll be fine if I speed up a little" — speeding by man in his 60s ends in tragedy

[Financial News] A man in his 60s who exceeded the speed limit and fatally struck a motorcyclist has received a suspended prison sentence.
According to the legal community on the 8th, the 7th single-judge criminal division of the Seoul Eastern District Court, presided over by Judge Cho A-ram, sentenced a 66-year-old man surnamed Lee, who was indicted in December last year for violating the Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents (resulting in death), to one year in prison, suspended for two years.
Lee was brought to trial on charges that on the morning of September 23, 2024, while speeding on a road in front of Gukhoe-daero in Yangcheon District in Seoul, he failed to properly observe a situation in which a motorcycle ahead of him had fallen and crashed into the rider, causing his death.
Lee, who works as a van driver, was found to have been driving at between 55.8 and 59.6 kilometers per hour in a section where the speed limit was 40 kilometers per hour at the time of the accident.
The victim, a man in his 60s identified as A, who was hit by Lee's vehicle, was taken to a hospital in Guro District on the day of the accident but died from hypovolemic shock and other complications.
The court held that people engaged in driving as an occupation have a duty of care to prevent accidents in advance, such as by complying with speed limits, keeping their eyes on the road ahead, and maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle in front.
The bench stated, "The defendant's occupational negligence led to the grave consequence of the victim's death," but added, "In determining the sentence, the court took into account that the defendant admits to the offense and deeply regrets it, that the victim's family does not wish for the defendant to be punished, and that the defendant has lived diligently for about 25 years without any prior criminal record."
yesji@fnnews.com Kim Ye-ji Reporter