Act on the Safety Management of Guns, Swords, Explosives, Etc. | Charge of Unauthorized Storage of Firearms and Ammunition Under the Guns and Explosives Act Results in a Suspended Sentence

The client, who was at risk of punishment on a charge of violating the Act on the Safety Management of Guns, Swords, Explosives, Etc., was a prop manager who had professionally managed and operated firearm props at domestic and international film and drama production sites.

The client stated that he had a career of being responsible for firearm-related staging in numerous productions. Due to the nature of the work, there was a practice of securing spare prop firearms and live and blank rounds in advance to prepare for changes in shooting schedules, the addition of unexpected scenes, and the prevention of safety accidents.

In this process, the client came to store dozens of firearms and tens of thousands of live and blank rounds without separate authorization.

The investigative authorities took issue with this and indicted the client on a charge of violating the Guns and Explosives Act, and the likelihood of an actual custodial sentence was very high.

Accordingly, the client requested the assistance of a criminal law specialist attorney at Daeryun Law Firm in order to reduce the risk of criminal punishment.

The Daeryun criminal law specialist attorney established a strategy of analyzing the substantive danger, motive, and social context of the conduct in a multidimensional manner from the early stage of the case.

First, the attorney emphasized that the client's conduct was not personal possession or for a criminal purpose but was storage that unavoidably arose in the course of performing his profession in film and drama production.

The attorney proved, through specific production examples and industry practice materials, that the special nature of shooting sites and the structure of the cultural industry made the immediate availability of firearm props directly connected to safety.

Second, the attorney mounted a defense on the grounds that the firearms and ammunition at issue were all managed as props and had never actually been used, distributed, or diverted, and that the storage location was also a space where external access was thoroughly controlled.

The criminal law specialist attorney persuasively argued, in particular, that no substantive danger to the social community had existed.

Third, the attorney highlighted the absence of intent and antisocial character by comprehensively presenting an accident-free record in which not a single safety accident had occurred while the client handled firearm props for many years, records of compliance with safety manuals at shooting sites, and statements from relevant persons.

Fourth, the attorney argued for active consideration, as sentencing factors, of the fact that, after becoming aware of the case, the client familiarized himself with the relevant statutes, immediately reorganized the storage conditions, took measures to resolve the unlawful state, and consistently maintained a sincere attitude of remorse.

The Act on the Safety Management of Guns, Swords, Explosives, Etc. is a statute through which the state strictly controls the manufacture, import, sale, possession, storage, and transport of high-risk items such as firearms, swords, explosives, gas guns, and electric shock devices.

This act in principle prohibits unauthorized possession and storage in itself, and an unauthorized state alone becomes subject to punishment regardless of whether the item is actually used or whether a crime occurs.

In particular, for firearms and ammunition, the act regulates in detail even the responsible manager, storage location, quantity, and history management, so persons engaged in related industries must exercise particular caution.

If you have violated the Act on the Safety Management of Guns, Swords, Explosives, Etc., you should respond as follows.

• Legally organize the circumstances, purpose, and use history of the storage before making any statement at the early stage of the investigation
• Secure evidence of whether there was an occupational or work-related necessity rather than personal possession
• Explain, with objective materials, whether there was actual use or distribution and the absence of danger
• Present voluntary corrective measures, an attitude of remorse, and a recurrence prevention plan at an early stage
• Review the possibility of additional administrative sanctions as well, not only criminal punishment