Prosecutors will demand harsh penalties, including life sentences, for drivers who kill or severely injure people while driving under the influence of alochol, according to the prosecutor’s office Sunday.

Under the revised guidelines that will go into force from Tuesday, prosecutors are advised to seek the maximum penalty for drunk drivers who cause unusually severe damage or who have habitually driven under influence.

The guidelines also make it a rule to put into custody drunk drivers who are accused of killing or severely injuring others while driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher.

Under the previous guidelines, drunk drivers who caused a deadly car crash were subject to imprisonment of about 4 1/2 years.

But the new guidelines subject a drunk driver with a similar charge to imprisonment of at least seven years to a life sentence at maximum.

Prosecutors also plan to file for court-issued arrest warrants without exception for drunk drivers who run from an accident scene, a stance far tighter than the previous guidelines. (Yonhap)