CONTENTS
- 1. The Circumstances of the Client's Case Referred to the Prosecutors' Office
- - Legal Procedures After a Fatal Traffic Accident
- - What Is the Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents?
- - What Are the Provisions of the Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents?
- 2. Defense Strategy for a Client at the Trial Stage After Referral to the Prosecutors' Office
- - Defense Strategy 1: Arguing That the Client Was Not at Fault
- - Defense Strategy 2: Arguing That the Accident Was Unavoidable
- - Defense Strategy 3: Rebutting the Claim That the Client Neglected the Duty to Prevent the Accident
- 3. Assisted a Client at the Trial Stage After Referral to the Prosecutors' Office and Obtained an Acquittal
1. The Circumstances of the Client's Case Referred to the Prosecutors' Office
The circumstances of the case of the client referred to the prosecutors' office over a traffic accident are as follows.
On the day of the incident, around 3 a.m., the client was driving on a dark road on the way back from a business trip.
The client was driving within the speed limit, but suddenly struck the victim, who darted out from the left lane of the road, at the same moment as recognizing him.
In this unforeseen and unfortunate accident, the victim ultimately died, and the client came to be investigated on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents (death).
Greatly frightened by the news that the victim had died, the client urgently sought a traffic accident specialist attorney and requested assistance in responding to defend against punishment.
Legal Procedures After a Fatal Traffic Accident
The following is the legal procedure after an accident where one comes to be charged with violation of the Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents (death).
| Police investigation and referral to the prosecutors’ office The police who investigated the accident determine whether the driver was at fault and then proceed with the criminal booking procedure |
| Decision on whether the prosecution will indict After the police investigation, the case is referred to the prosecutors’ office, and the prosecutor, after assessing the degree of the driver’s fault, makes a decision such as suspension of indictment or formal indictment |
| Trial proceedings (possible up to the first, second, and third instance) Once a formal trial is held after indictment, the defendant contests the question of fault in court |
After the traffic accident was referred to the prosecutors’ office, the prosecutor determined that the client’s fault as a driver was serious and formally indicted the client.
The client was accordingly facing a formal trial, and a traffic accident specialist attorney reviewed the relevant provisions in order to defend the client.
What Is the Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents?
Article 2 of the Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents (abbreviated: Traffic Accident Settlement Act) defines a traffic accident as the killing or injuring of a person, or the damaging of property, caused by the operation of a vehicle.
A traffic accident can happen to anyone.
The Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents is a law that applies special cases for criminal punishment to a driver where a traffic accident is caused by occupational negligence or gross negligence.
If the charge of a violation of the Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents (death) is applied, unlike a simple negligent accident, legal proceedings may be undertaken and an actual custodial sentence may be imposed.
What Are the Provisions of the Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents?
Under the law of our country, a simple traffic accident and a traffic accident in which there is loss of human life are treated differently.
In particular, where the victim has died, a person may be punished by imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to twenty million won.
For an ordinary traffic accident, criminal punishment can often be avoided if a settlement is reached with the victim, but where a fatal accident has been caused, the matter does not end with reaching a settlement with the bereaved family and is likely to proceed to a formal trial, making criminal punishment difficult to avoid.
For this reason, in order to defend against an actual custodial sentence, it is most important to visit a specialized attorney promptly from the early stages of the case, accurately grasp the facts of the case, and establish a thorough defense strategy to respond.
2. Defense Strategy for a Client at the Trial Stage After Referral to the Prosecutors' Office
For the acquittal of the client, who came to face a formal trial after being referred to the prosecutors' office over the traffic accident, the attorney established the following defense strategy and provided assistance.
Defense Strategy 1: Arguing That the Client Was Not at Fault
To determine whether the client was at fault, the traffic accident specialist attorney collaborated with the 🔗evidence collection and investigation group to collect and analyze the dashcam footage from the client's vehicle, and requested an appraisal from the National Forensic Service to determine the speed of the client's vehicle at the time of the accident.
The speed limit on the road at the time was 60 km/h, and the speed of the client's vehicle, estimated from the dashcam footage and the appraisal results from the National Forensic Service, was 55 km/h, below the margin of error. On this basis, it was asserted that the client, who was watching the road ahead and driving in accordance with the speed limit, had not neglected the duties of a driver.
In addition, a careful argument was made on the ground that, at the point where the client spotted the victim, who suddenly darted out onto a road that had no sidewalk, the distance to the victim was considerably shorter than the stopping distance of the client's vehicle, so the occurrence of the accident was unavoidable.
Defense Strategy 2: Arguing That the Accident Was Unavoidable
As a result of examining the road conditions at the time through CCTV, it was confirmed that, regrettably, the street lights on the road were off and the area was dark at the time of the accident.
For this reason, the client did not anticipate at all that there would be a pedestrian on the road at the time of the accident.
In addition, because the victim's clothing at the time was, regrettably, black in tone, the client failed to notice the victim, and because the street lights were also out of order, the client had no choice but to notice the victim only immediately before the accident. On these grounds, it was argued that the client's accident occurred as a result of force majeure.
Defense Strategy 3: Rebutting the Claim That the Client Neglected the Duty to Prevent the Accident
At the time the accident occurred, the client was driving in compliance with the speed limit.
In addition, traces were found showing that, as soon as the client spotted the victim, the client immediately turned the steering and braking systems to the opposite side of the victim, and on this basis the attorney directly rebutted the prosecutor's argument that the client had caused the accident by neglecting the duty to prevent it, and argued that the client should be acquitted.
The attorney also requested an acquittal on the ground that, under Article 325 of the Criminal Procedure Act, a judgment of acquittal must be pronounced where the facts charged do not constitute a crime or where there is no proof of the criminal facts, and because in this case the evidence that the client's negligence was grave is insufficient and has not been proven.
3. Assisted a Client at the Trial Stage After Referral to the Prosecutors' Office and Obtained an Acquittal
After the referral of the traffic accident to the prosecutors' office, the client proceeded to a formal trial with the assistance of a traffic accident specialist attorney and obtained a judgment of 'acquittal,' concluding the case.
This result was achieved because the client promptly sought out a traffic accident attorney from the early stages of the case, carefully ascertained the facts from the early stage of the case, and meticulously established a strategy to defend against a custodial sentence.
If you face the risk of punishment on a charge of violating the Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, it is important to seek the assistance of a traffic accident specialist attorney to collect evidence and assess the question of fault in responding, rather than responding alone.
The traffic accident specialist attorneys at Daeryun Law, who have extensive experience in traffic accident cases, collaborate with the evidence collection and investigation group to collect evidence for ascertaining the facts, and systematically analyze the cause and responsibility in order to do their utmost to defend against the client's punishment.
This content is based on actual case studies of Daeryun Law LLC with some adaptations, and the copyright belongs to our firm.
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