Hit-and-run driver in Apgujeong leaves Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, Seoul, Aug. 11, 2023. Yonhap

An appellate court on Friday reduced the prison term to 10 years for a hit-and-run driver accused of ramming onto a sidewalk under the influence of drugs, fatally hitting a passerby and fleeing in the posh district of Apgujeong last year.

The 28-year-old, identified only by his surname Shin, was indicted for allegedly dashing onto a sidewalk while driving his Rolls-Royce on a road near Apgujeong Station in southern Seoul, and hitting a woman in her 20s on Aug. 2. He then fled the scene without taking post-accident measures.

The victim, aged 27 at the time, was declared brain dead and died about four months later.

In January, the district court handed down a 20-year imprisonment for Shin, but the appellate court reduced the sentence by half, saying the defendant's intention to flee the scene had not been clearly proven.

The court said the defendant appeared to have temporarily left the scene in search of his phone after forgetting that it was inside his car due to the influence of the drugs.

"(The defendant) came back to the scene and acknowledged the accident, and it is difficult to view that rescue efforts were delayed," the court said. (Yonhap)