Calculators & Self-ChecksProsecution Request Estimator
Drunk driving accident (injury or death): statutory penalty and likely requested sentence
The statutory penalty for Drunk driving accident (injury or death) and the likely handling of the case depending on your circumstances. The results are for reference only.
- Statutory penalty
- Violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents (death or injury: up to 5 years of imprisonment without labor or a fine of up to KRW 20 million) is punished together with drunk driving. If the driver could not drive normally because of alcohol: dangerous driving causing injury, 1 to 15 years in prison or a fine of KRW 10 million to 30 million; dangerous driving causing death, life imprisonment or 3 years or more in prison
- Legal basis
- Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, Article 3; Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, Article 5-11; Road Traffic Act, Article 148-2
- Category
- Traffic · Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents
Calculate with your own circumstances
Count fines only within the last 5 years, and suspended sentences or heavier only within the last 10 years.
What the handling steps mean
- Detention considered · Detention (구속): being held in custody during the investigation and trial under a court warrant when there is a risk of fleeing or destroying evidence
- Formal trial · Formal trial (구공판): the prosecutor asks the court for a trial, and you stand before a judge in a courtroom
- Summary fine · Summary indictment (약식기소): a procedure in which a fine is set on the documents, without a trial in a courtroom
- Suspension of indictment possible · Suspension of indictment (기소유예): the wrongdoing is recognized, but the prosecutor takes various circumstances into account and closes the case without sending it to trial
- Referral to the Family Court possible · Domestic or juvenile protection case: instead of criminal punishment, the Family Court imposes protective dispositions such as counseling, a no-contact order or community service
Handling standards at a glance
Listed from heaviest to lightest. The actual decision depends on the results of the investigation and your circumstances.
Detention considered
- Likely requested sentence
- 5 years or more in prison
This corresponds to handling grade 13 or higher. Grade 9 or higher is the standard where an actual prison term must be sought (mandatory prison term), so a suspended sentence is not requested.
Detention considered
- Likely requested sentence
- 4 to 5 years in prison
This corresponds to handling grade 11 or higher. Grade 9 or higher is the standard where an actual prison term must be sought (mandatory prison term), so a suspended sentence is not requested.
Detention considered
- Likely requested sentence
- 3 to 4 years in prison
This corresponds to handling grade 9 or higher. Grade 9 or higher is the standard where an actual prison term must be sought (mandatory prison term), so a suspended sentence is not requested.
Detention considered
- Likely requested sentence
- 2 to 3 years in prison
This corresponds to handling grade 7 or higher. Grade 6 or higher is the standard where investigation in detention is considered.
Detention considered
- Likely requested sentence
- 1 year 6 months to 2 years in prison
This corresponds to handling grade 6 or higher. Grade 6 or higher is the standard where investigation in detention is considered.
Formal trial (prison sentence requested)
- Likely requested sentence
- 1 year to 1 year 6 months in prison
This corresponds to handling grade 5 or higher. Grade 4 or higher is the standard for sending the case to a formal trial.
Formal trial (prison sentence requested)
- Likely requested sentence
- 9 months to 1 year in prison
This corresponds to handling grade 4 or higher. Grade 4 or higher is the standard for sending the case to a formal trial.
Summary fine
Below the formal-trial standard (grade 4), so depending on the case it may be handled with a summary fine. At a formal trial, the level is 6 to 9 months in prison.
Notes
- The grade starts from a base (grade 3 for an injury accident, grade 10 for a fatal accident) and is raised or lowered according to blood alcohol, severity of injury, drunk driving record, settlement and how the accident happened.
- If the driver is found unable to drive normally because of alcohol (dangerous driving), injury accidents become 1 grade heavier and fatal accidents 2 grades heavier.
- It becomes heavier if 3 or more people were injured or 2 or more died, and 1 grade heavier if the driver was operating public transportation such as a bus.
- A court deposit, a passenger riding along as a favor, a first offense and self-surrender are mitigating; fleeing, reckless driving and hiding the crime are aggravating.
Frequently asked questions
- Drunk driving accident (injury or death): what is the statutory penalty?
- Legal basis: Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, Article 3; Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, Article 5-11; Road Traffic Act, Article 148-2. Statutory penalty: Violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents (death or injury: up to 5 years of imprisonment without labor or a fine of up to KRW 20 million) is punished together with drunk driving. If the driver could not drive normally because of alcohol: dangerous driving causing injury, 1 to 15 years in prison or a fine of KRW 10 million to 30 million; dangerous driving causing death, life imprisonment or 3 years or more in prison.
- Drunk driving accident (injury or death): how is the case usually handled?
- Depending on the circumstances, it may be handled as follows: Detention considered, Formal trial (prison sentence requested), Summary fine. Enter your circumstances in the calculator above to see which one applies.
Other crimes in the same category
- Traffic accident causing injury (Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents)
- Traffic accident causing death (Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents)
- Drunk driving (DUI)
- Refusing a breathalyzer test
- Driving without a license
- Riding a motorized bicycle without a license
- Hit-and-run (fleeing after causing injury)
- Hit-and-run causing death
This is only an estimate based on how investigative agencies usually handle cases. The actual decision and request depend on the facts of the case, such as a settlement, prior convictions and how the crime happened, and on the judgment of the prosecutor in charge; the final sentence is decided by the court. If you are about to be questioned, do not rely on this result alone and talk to a lawyer first.
Want to look at your own case more closely?
Send us a message about your situation. A lawyer will review it and reply.
© 2026 JISAN LAW. The question structure, the organisation of the criteria, the result wording and the data on this page are works and a database created by JISAN LAW. Copying, distributing or modifying them, reusing them on other websites or services, or collecting them automatically (scraping) without permission is prohibited. Violations may lead to civil and criminal liability under the Korean Copyright Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act.