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🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

South Korean court revokes dismissal of charges in pedestrian collision case

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • South Korea's Constitutional Court overturned a prosecutor's decision not to indict a driver who hit a pedestrian.
  • The court ruled the driver had a duty to protect pedestrians, even if the pedestrian had slightly strayed from a crosswalk.
  • The ruling emphasizes the driver's obligation to ensure pedestrian safety, particularly when pedestrians are about to enter or are entering a crosswalk.

South Korea's Constitutional Court has overturned a prosecutor's decision to drop charges against a driver who struck a pedestrian, ruling that the driver had a duty to protect the individual.

The petitioner expressed their intention to cross the road by starting to move towards the part where the crosswalk was installed, while checking for vehicle traffic.

· Constitutional Court rulingExplaining the pedestrian's actions and intent prior to the accident.

The case involved a driver who hit a pedestrian while turning at an intersection in Seoul in January. Prosecutors had initially decided not to indict the driver, citing that the pedestrian had moved slightly beyond the designated crosswalk. This decision was based on an interpretation of the Road Traffic Act, which mandates drivers to stop for pedestrians crossing or intending to cross.

However, the Constitutional Court, in a unanimous decision on April 21, accepted the pedestrian's constitutional appeal. The court highlighted the 2022 amendment to the Road Traffic Act, which explicitly includes situations where a pedestrian is about to enter a crosswalk. The court found that the pedestrian had signaled their intent to cross by moving towards the crosswalk and that the driver therefore had a duty to yield.

It is difficult to find a reason for the petitioner to intentionally start crossing outside the crosswalk or to deviate from the crosswalk. This is merely a slight deviation from the crosswalk due to the structural characteristics of the crosswalk, regardless of the petitioner's intention.

· Constitutional Court rulingAddressing the argument that the pedestrian had strayed from the crosswalk.

The court further stated that the pedestrian had begun crossing at the edge of the crosswalk after checking traffic. It reasoned that it was unlikely the pedestrian intentionally deviated from the crosswalk and that any deviation was minor and likely due to the crosswalk's structural characteristics. The court concluded that the prosecutor's decision violated the pedestrian's right to equality and right to procedural justice, thus ordering the dismissal of the non-indictment decision to be revoked.

The prosecutor's exercise of prosecutorial power, misinterpreting the law regarding the duty to protect pedestrians under the Road Traffic Act, infringed upon the petitioner's right to equality and right to procedural justice, and thus is revoked.

· Constitutional Court rulingStating the reason for overturning the prosecutor's decision.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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