Busan Criminal Attorney | Busan Attorney Assists Client Who Assaulted a Friend, Concluding the Case With a Minor Fine

The client explained that he had been keeping the mood friendly while meeting his old classmates, but became upset when one friend made an insulting remark.

A disagreement arose during the conversation, and in this process a minor quarrel escalated into a serious argument.

The victim kept making insulting remarks toward the client, and the client, whose emotions then ran high, ended up in a major fight with the victim, including throwing objects.

With both sides in a heightened emotional state, unintended violence occurred.

In the end, the client was booked on charges of assault and bodily injury as a result of the physical fight with his friend.

The victim claimed that he had sustained bodily injury requiring two weeks of treatment during the dispute with the client.

The client argued that it had been a mutual assault, but the victim took a firm position that there would be no leniency, placing the client in a difficult situation.

Realizing the seriousness of the case, the client promptly requested the assistance of a Busan criminal attorney at Daeryun's Busan office.

The client's charges were the bodily injury caused by the assault and the making of threatening remarks during the fight.

He acknowledged the fact that he had engaged in a physical fight with his friend, but emphasized that he had not been the only one to use violence unilaterally.

As for the charge of infliction of bodily injury, the client had acted violently after drinking and becoming emotionally agitated, and because this caused the victim bodily injury requiring two weeks of treatment, he could face a serious legal penalty.

Under Article 257 of the Criminal Act, a person who inflicts bodily injury on another is subject to imprisonment for not more than seven years, suspension of qualifications for not more than ten years, or a fine of not more than ten million won.

According to Supreme Court precedent (Supreme Court Decision 98Do3732, Jan. 26, 1999), bodily injury includes not only physical violence but also psychological violence. An external wound is not necessarily required, and the meaning of impairing physiological function includes not only physical function but also mental function, so the court held that post-traumatic stress disorder also constitutes bodily injury.

As for intimidation, under Article 283 of the Criminal Act, a person who intimidates another is subject to imprisonment for not more than three years, a fine of not more than five million won, detention, or a minor fine.

In other words, it refers to a crime that infringes on the freedom to form one's intent by communicating harm capable of arousing fear in a person.

There is no limitation on the content of the threatened harm, because it includes any and all harm to life, body, freedom, property, chastity, credit, business, and the like.

This also includes harm to a third party other than the person, so the scope of interpretation of harm is very broad.

Regardless of the reasonableness or feasibility of the content of the threat, this offense is committed even if the offender has no intention of carrying out the harm.

It is sufficient if it is enough to cause the other party to feel fear (Supreme Court precedent 2007Do606).

The client and the victim had assaulted each other, so the victim was also standing trial as a perpetrator.

To prove that the victim had provoked the argument first and had also initiated physical contact first, the attorney secured the CCTV footage from the time of the incident and the witness's statement.

Through this, the attorney clearly established that the client had not used violence unilaterally but had collided with the other party accidentally.

After the incident, the client showed deep remorse for his conduct and submitted a sincere letter of apology to the court.

The client's letter of apology contained a sense of responsibility for his failure to control his emotions and a commitment to efforts to prevent any recurrence.

In addition, throughout the trial the client acknowledged his wrongdoing and conveyed a heartfelt apology to the victim.

With the assistance of the attorney, the client actively sought a settlement in order to restore the relationship with the victim.

He conveyed appropriate compensation and an apology and expressed his intent to settle, and he worked to make amends for the harm, including depositing ten million won for the victim.