Drunk Driving

[Anchor Lead]

A law calling for harsher punishments for driving under the influence will likely be passed at the next parliamentary session. The bill was initiated by the friends of a young man who has been in a coma since he was hit by an intoxicated driver more than a month ago. They have visited parliament to urge lawmakers to pass the bill as soon as possible. Representatives of the ruling and opposition parties have also agreed to make it their priority to process the bill promptly.

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It has been 42 days since college student Yoon Chang-ho fell into a coma after being hit in a DUI accident. His friends have visited the National Assembly yet again to urge the lawmakers to pass a bill calling for harsher punishments for driving under the influence. They showed the results of a Cheong Wa Dae petition signed by more than 400,000 people, and said that legislative authorities must demonstrate their resolve to strengthen punishments for DUIs.

[Soundbite] Kim Min-jin(Yoon Chang-ho's friend) : "The current punishment is not fair. We believe that the bill proposed by us will serve as a momentum for strengthening punishment."

Representatives of the five political parties and the National Assembly speaker have all responded positively to the request. At a meeting presided by the parliamentary speaker, representatives of the ruling and opposition parties agreed to make it their priority to process the bill on DUIs at the next parliamentary session.

[Soundbite] Moon Hee-sang(National Assembly speaker) : "Is anyone opposed to the unanimous processing of the bills on DUIs and improving quality of living that do not involve the parties' conflict of interest?"

The Party for Democracy and Peace, which signed the bill as a co-proposer, also discussed punishment for Rep. Lee Yong-joo, who was recently caught driving under the influence. Punishment for Rep. Lee will be determined on Wednesday. Parliament will also decide on the punitive measures for Lee, next week.