Hong Seok Joo was brought to trial at Hoà Bình People's Court on March 12. — Photo from Hoà Bình Province Newspaper

HOÀ BÌNH — The People’s Court of the northern province Hòa Bình has recently opened a first-instance criminal trial against defendant Hong Seok Joo (born 1980), a South Korean national, for the crime of "Violating regulations on road traffic participation."

According to the prosecution, on December 7, 2024, Hong Seok Joo and Lee Won Hyuk (born 1987), both South Korean nationals, travelled from Hà Nội to Hòa Bình and rented a room in Tân Thịnh Ward, Hòa Bình City.

At around 11:00pm the same day, Hong Seok Joo drove a motorbike carrying Lee Won Hyuk toward Hòa Bình Bridge, heading from Tân Thịnh Ward to Phương Lâm Ward. Due to lack of attention and failure to control speed, Hong Seok Joo crashed the motorbike into the fixed median strip on the bridge, resulting in an accident.

Both Hong Seok Joo and Lee Won Hyuk were taken by local residents to Hòa Bình Provincial General Hospital for emergency treatment. However, due to severe injuries, Lee Won Hyuk died on the way to the hospital.

After recovering from his injuries, Hong Seok Joo voluntarily surrendered to the police for his traffic offence.

For this act, Hong Seok Joo was prosecuted and brought to trial in accordance with the law. During the trial, after a comprehensive review of the case, the judges ordered Hong Seok Joo to pay a fine of VNĐ40 million (US$1,600) for the crime of "Violating regulations on road traffic participation", pursuant to Point a, Clause 1, Article 260 of the Penal Code. — VNS