Apgujeong Rolls Royce case driver gets 20-year prison sentence

Victim died after 4 months in coma

A screenshot from CCTV footage shows the vehicle driven by Shin (circled in red) having hit Bae (on the ground) on Aug. 2, last year, while she was walking on a sidewalk near Apgujeong Station in Seoul. (Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office)

A Seoul court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 20 years in prison for killing a pedestrian while driving under the influence of illicitly prescribed drugs.

The 28-year-old driver, surnamed Shin, who ran over a woman while driving a Rolls-Royce in Apgujeong, Gangnam, Seoul in August 2023, was charged with murder via hit-and-run.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the man to 20 years in prison on Wednesday.

“The defendant caused the car accident after ignoring the doctor's instructions not to drive when he was under the influence of the drugs (he was given). Immediately after the crime, he showed no effort to help the victim, made a quick getaway and destroyed evidence. Even during the arrest, he behaved abnormally, such as smiling at the victim,” the Seoul Central District Court said.

“The victim, a woman in her 20s identified by the surname of Bae, died after four months in a coma. Because of the seriousness of the crime, he should be punished severely.” the court added.

Shin, who had two drug-related previous convictions, was accused of driving onto a sidewalk and hitting the victim near Exit 4 of Apgujeong Station at around 8:10 p.m. on Aug. 2 last year while under the influence of drugs. The victim had been on her way home after working a part-time job.

Shin tested positive for seven different psychoactive drugs, including ketamine, according to a drug test conducted by the National Forensic Service. Bae received surgery for severe head and leg injuries but died after four months in a coma.

Meanwhile, a hospital director, identified by his surname Yeom, in Gangnam, Seoul, has been formally indicted by prosecutors on charges of allegedly prescribing narcotic drugs illicitly to the driver and is currently in custody, the Seoul District Prosecutor's Office said on Wednesday. The doctor has also been charged with sexually assaulting approximately ten women while they were under anesthesia.

By Lee Jaeeun(jenn@heraldcorp.com)