"Drunk driving." When is attendance?Review of additional charges

■ Host: Anchor Jeong Jin-hyung and Anchor Lee Eun-sol
■ Starring: Lee Hyun-jung, Social Affairs Reporter

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN New Square 8PM] when quoting.

[Anchor]
For Dahye, the daughter of former President Moon Jae In, who was charged with drunk driving, the police have been coordinating the summoning schedule for five days. As Da-hye's track record was revealed on the day of the accident, the possibility of additional charges such as dangerous driving death is also being discussed. Let's talk in detail with Lee Hyun-jung of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Hello, Reporter Lee! As Da-hye is expected to appear at the police station, interest is also growing, so how is the atmosphere at the police station now?

[Reporter]
Yes, a lot of attention is focused on this case. As Da-hye is expected to be summoned this week, our YTN reporters are also
in front of the annex of Yongsan Police Station in Seoul.I'm still waiting. Yesterday was a holiday, but in front of the annex of the police station, where the traffic investigation team is located, reporters from various media gathered and was crowded. As many as 50 reporters
We also gathered together. On top of that, even various YouTubers came to the police station, making a fuss. The annex of Yongsan Police Station is a building that is used with female teenagers in addition to the transportation department. Because of this, the police said that the identity of victims of sex crimes could be disclosed, and YouTubers were allowed to broadcast only outside the police station. The police say they are still coordinating the schedule with Da-hye and maintain that they cannot disclose the exact schedule. According to the police public information rules, all investigation-related content is prohibited from being published. To solve it a little more, it means that even if the media asks, if the police judge that it is "investigation-related content," they may not reveal it. In some cases, the investigation schedule is limited in consideration of public interest, but Da-hye is not expected to announce the time of summons in advance because she is a member of the former president's family, but it is difficult to regard her as a public figure. Da-hye is known to be preparing for a police investigation by appointing a lawyer.

[Anchor]
Let's go back to Da-hye's drunk driving day. How did you get caught?

[Reporter]
Yes, Da-hye was reported to the police about drunk driving at around 2:50 a.m. on the 5th. After drinking in Itaewon, Seoul, he drove a Casper car and crashed into a taxi that was following him in the process of changing lanes. The taxi driver was found to have suffered minor injuries, such as a stiff neck. About eight minutes after the accident, the taxi driver reported to the police that the driver of the other car seemed to have been drinking. Police were dispatched from a nearby Itaewon police station and tested Da-hye for alcohol at the scene, and it was confirmed that she was intoxicated.

[Anchor]
How long have you been drinking?

[Reporter]
At the time of the accident, Da-hye's blood alcohol level was confirmed to be 0.149%. I was nearly twice as drunk as the 0.08% standard for revoking my license. Dahye was found to have visited several nearby restaurants and bars for seven hours before the accident to eat and drink. It varies from person to person, but in general, when you drink one or two glasses of soju, your blood alcohol level is measured to be around 0.03%. Therefore, it is also mentioned that Da-hye's alcohol consumption was more than 1 bottle of soju at the time.

[Anchor]
If you look at the CCTV secured by YTN, walking or driving was also in jeopardy, right?

[Reporter]
Yes, Da-hye's whereabouts at that time were captured on CCTV around her. At around 2:20 a.m., he was seen stumbling drunk and walking hard to get into the driver's seat of Casper. About 10 minutes later, the Casper car departed, and as it drove through a narrow alleyway, it was seen narrowly passing by three passers-by. Suddenly, abnormal driving scenes have been confirmed, such as stopping for more than a minute and then starting again. Da-hye's vehicle, which had a hard time exiting the alley, was seen at the intersection in front of the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon. While trying to turn left without a red light on the right-turn lane, he became dangerously entangled with other vehicles. After a while, I tried to change lanes without turning on the blinkers and collided with a taxi.

[Anchor]
What charges have been filed now, and what level of punishment do you think will be?

[Reporter]
Da-hye is now charged with drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act. However, as you saw on CCTV earlier, Moon appeared to be very drunk and was seen driving abnormally. In addition, as the taxi driver complained of pain at the scene, the police are also considering applying charges of "hazardous driving injuries." This charge is established when a person is injured or killed while driving a car while having difficulty driving normally due to drinking or drugs. It is a serious crime rather than a simple drunk driving. The blood alcohol level was measured below 0.2%, and a first-time offender can be sentenced to up to two years in prison if only a simple drunk driving charge is applied. However, if the charge of dangerous driving is applied, the maximum sentence in the court is 15 years in prison. It is common to be fined for simple drunk driving, but experts say there is a possibility of imprisonment for dangerous driving. Let's listen to it for a second.

[Lee Woong-hyuk / Konkuk University Police Department Professor (YTN NewsNOW): Since it's a serious crime, the focus of this investigation will be whether the investigative agency will apply dangerous driving injuries.... It's a representative behavioral sign of a dangerous driving injury recognized by precedents. ]

[Anchor]
What kind of investigation was conducted on the day of the accident?

[Reporter]
Yes, it was found that only the usual accident overview and identification procedures were carried out on the day. Drunk drivers are drunk, so it is difficult to investigate in detail, so on the same day, they often conduct an additional summons after completing a simple investigation and sending them home, and a similar judgment seems to have been made against Da-hye. The police who were dispatched conducted a breathalyzer test on Da-hye once at the scene, and then walked to the Itaewon Police Station. In the process, CCTV also caught Da-hye shaking off the hand of a police officer who was trying to help her. After being investigated for a little more than an hour, Da-hye reportedly called a chauffeur and returned home in her Casper. The police explained that there was no major problem in communication during the investigation, and Da-hye did not make any special or specific statements about her status. In addition, he said that the drug test was not carried out separately because there was no basis for compulsory drug testing in the law.

[Anchor]
On the day of the accident, other violations of laws other than drunk driving were also identified, so please explain.

[Reporter]
Yes, there are suspicions that Da-hye not only drove under the influence of alcohol, but also broke other traffic laws such as traffic violations and illegal parking. As you can see on the CCTV,
Da-hye tried to turn left on a red light on a lane where only a right turn was possible. After that, I caused a contact accident while trying to change lanes by force without turning on the turn signal. It seems that there is a possibility of violating the signal order. Also, the alley where Da-hye kept Casper parked before driving under the influence of alcohol is a place where there is no stop for more than 5 minutes. It can be said that Da-hye parked illegally for 7 hours. However, it was confirmed that no fines were imposed because they were not detected by the on-site crackdown team or CCTV in the district office at the time.

[Anchor]
So what do you think the police will investigate in the future?

[Reporter]
The police are in a position to comprehensively examine the specific circumstances of drunk driving and the situation at the time of detection. In particular, the amount of alcohol consumed and driving distance are expected to become issues. Suspicions raised through media reports, such as the aforementioned signal violations and illegal parking, are also reported to be looking into. The police are also analyzing the black box of the affected taxi, and Da-hye's statements and related videos are expected to be an important basis for grasping the accident. In addition, if necessary, an investigation will be conducted on those who visited the bar together.

[Anchor]
This incident also revealed that Da-hye's vehicle has been seized several times, right?

[Reporter]
Yes, YTN looked at the car registry of the Casper vehicle that Da-hye caused the accident this time and the Sorento vehicle that former President Moon drove. It has been confirmed that the two vehicles were seized four times due to non-payment of fines during the period that Da-hye owned. Before driving Casper, Da-hye took over former President Moon's Sorento and used it for two years from 2022. Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul in July last year, Seobu Police Station in Jeju in October, and Jeju City in January this year seized them, all of which were due to non-payment of fines. Sorento went back to former President Moon in April, and Da-hye took over Casper instead. This Casper is a meaningful vehicle that was produced and directly acquired as a Gwangju-type job industry during former President Moon's presidency in 2021. However, this Casper was also seized in August, and it was found to be a measure after Da-hye did not pay the fine imposed when driving the Sorento earlier. For this reason, there are suspicions that Da-hye may have repeatedly broken traffic laws before.

[Anchor]
A number of foreclosure records have been confirmed for Sorento, which is currently owned by former President Moon, right?

[Reporter]
Yes, the Sorento vehicle was acquired by former President Moon in 2010, and has been seized nine times so far. Casper, the car in the accident, was seized twice, so the car driven by the father and daughter was seized 11 times. All were due to non-payment of fines, which were imposed at least 11 times for violating traffic laws, and it seems that foreclosure measures were taken without paying them on time.

[Anchor]
This has been reporter Lee Hyun-jung of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Thank you.