Criminal punishment for a traffic accident
Punishment for a traffic accident- Imprisonment or the imposition of a fine on the perpetrator of a traffic accident or a violator of the traffic regulations are criminal punishments. Acts stipulating such punishments include the Road Traffic Act, Criminal Act, Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, Act on Aggravated Punishment, Etc. of Specific Crimes, etc.
- In cases where the driver of a motor vehicle damages a building or goods belonging to another person due to negligent disregard or gross negligence, he/she shall be punished by a term of imprisonment of not more than 2 years or by a fine not exceeding KRW 5 million (Road Traffic Act, Article 151).
- Where a driver of a motor vehicle (including a motorcycle) commits a crime provided for in Article 3(1) of the Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents against a child (referring to a person who is under 13 years of age) in violation of Article 12(1) of the Road Traffic Act in a protection area for children under Article 12(3) of the same Act shall be punished aggravatingly as follows (Article 5-13 of the Act on Aggravated Punishment, Etc. of Specific Crimes).
- A driver of a motor vehicle, etc. who commits such crime, as set forth in Article 3-1 of the Act on Special Cases concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, to a child (younger than 13 years old) in a child protection zone under Article 12(3) of the Road Traffic Act by violating Article 12(1) of the said Act shall be charged aggravated punishment in accordance with each subparagraph below (Article 5-13 of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes).
· Where the crime causes the death of a child, the driver shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for an indefinite term or not less than 3 years;
· Where the crime causes injuries to a child, the driver shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not less than 1 year but not more than 15 years or by a fine of not less than KRW 5 million but not more than KRW 30 million.
Special cases of punishment according to The Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents- To facilitate the prompt recovery of damages, The Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents stipulates special cases including criminal punishments for a driver who causes a traffic accident by occupational or gross negligence (Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, Article 1).
※ The term "traffic accident" refers to the death or injury of a human being or damage to a property resulting from vehicular traffic (Article 2(2) of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents).
Prosecution- A driver who commits a crime by inflicting bodily injury due to occupational or gross negligence relating to traffic accidents as provided under Article 268 of the Criminal Act or a crime as provided under Article 151 of the Road Traffic Act shall not be prosecuted against the express will of the victim (Article 3(2) of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents).
- In cases where a driver of a vehicle who commits a crime of inflicting bodily injury due to occupational or gross negligence relating to the traffic accidents mentioned above, leaves the scene of an accident without taking the required measures including those necessary to provide aid or relief to a victim as provided under Article 54(1) of the Road Traffic Act, or leaves the scene of an accident after moving the victim from the site of the accident and abandoning the victim, or in cases where a driver of a vehicle commits the aforesaid crimes and refuses to take a sobriety test in violation of Article 44(2) of the Road Traffic Act (excluding cases where a driver of a vehicle requests or agrees to a blood sample test), and in cases where a driver of a vehicle commits such crime caused by an act falling under any of the following cases, prosecution against the will of the victim shall be allowed (Article 3(2) of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents).
1. In cases involving the violation of road traffic signals by a vehicle as provided under Article 5 of the Road Traffic Act, the violation of signals made by a traffic police officer, or other directions of safety signals requiring the prohibition or temporary suspension of traffic;
2. In cases involving the crossing of a median line of a road in violation of the provisions under Article 13(3) of the Road Traffic Act, or involving the crossing of, making a U-turn or driving in reverse on a road in violation of the provisions under Article 62 of the same Act;
3. In cases involving the operation of a vehicle in excess of the speed limit by 20 kilometers per hour or more as provided under Article17 (1) or (2) of the Road Traffic Act;
4. In cases involving the operation of a vehicle in violation of the methods, time of prohibition and location of prohibition of passing, or prohibition of intruding, as provided under Articles 21(1), 22, and 23, or the operation of a vehicle in violation of the method of passing another vehicle on highways under 60(2) of the Road Traffic Act;
5. In cases involving the operation of a vehicle in violation of the method of passing a railway crossing as provided under Article 24 of the Road Traffic Act;
6. In cases involving the operation of a vehicle by neglecting to observe the duty of protecting pedestrians on a crosswalk as provided under Article 27(1) of the Road Traffic Act;
7. In cases where a driver operates a vehicle without holding a driver's license or a construction machinery operator’s license or without holding an international driver's license in violation of the provisions of Article 43(1) of the Road Traffic Act, Article 26 of the Construction Machinery Management Act or Article 96 of the Road Traffic Act. In such cases, the fact of suspension of a person’s driver's license or construction machinery operator’s license, or the fact of prohibition of operation of a vehicle shall be considered as that person’s not having obtained a driver's license or a construction machinery operator’s license or not holding an international driver's license;
8. In cases where a driver operates a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in violation of the provisions of Article 44(1) of the Road Traffic Act or while normal operation is deemed difficult due to the influence of drugs in violation of the provisions of Article 45 of the Road Traffic Act;
9. In cases where a driver operates a vehicle in violation of the pavements as provided under Article 13(1) of the Road Traffic Act or in violation of the method of crossing pavements as provided under Article 13(2) of the same Act;
10. In cases where a driver operates a vehicle in violation of the obligation to prevent passengers from falling out of the vehicle as provided under Article 39(3) of the Road Traffic Act;
11. In cases where a driver is responsible for causing bodily harm to children in violation of the obligation to operate a vehicle by complying with the measures provided under paragraph (1) of Article 12 of the Road Traffic Act or in violation of the duty to pay attention to the safety of children within protective areas for children as provided under Article 12(3) of the same Act.
12. When a driver does not take any necessary measures in order to prevent loaded freight from falling off while driving the motor vehicle in violation of Article 39 (4) of the 「Road Traffic Act」;
※ The eleven aforementioned cases of traffic accidents caused by gross negligence shall be referred to as ‘eleven types of traffic accident caused by gross negligence.’