Court: "Smartphones are dangerous objects"... "If used to hit and cause injury, it constitutes special injury crime"

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The court has ruled that a smartphone is considered a "dangerous object" under social norms, which could cause a third party or the other person to feel a risk of fatal injury, and if used to injure someone, it constitutes the crime of special injury.

This ruling follows the Supreme Court precedent that determines danger not only based on the objective nature of the object but also by comprehensively considering the object's nature and method of use according to social norms.

According to the legal community on the 31st, Judge Hwang Yeo-jin of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 23 recognized the guilt of A (25), who was charged with injuring a colleague's eye by hitting it with a smartphone, and sentenced him to one year in prison with a two-year probation.

The court explained, "The danger of a 'dangerous object' as defined by the Criminal Act should be judged based on whether it is an object that, when used, could be recognized as causing the other person or a third party to feel a risk of fatal injury according to social norms."

It added, "A directly used the mobile phone to harm the victims' bodies, and it is common experience that striking a person's head or face with its edge can cause the other person or a third party to feel a risk of fatal injury."

A was charged with hitting one colleague's eye with his smartphone during a verbal dispute at a company dinner in February last year, causing a fracture injury requiring five weeks of medical treatment.

He was also accused of hitting the back of another colleague's head, who tried to stop the fight, with the smartphone in his hand, causing a scalp injury requiring two weeks of medical treatment.

Under Korean criminal law, crimes such as special assault or special injury impose heavier penalties when a weapon originally made for killing people or damaging property, such as a knife, or a "dangerous object" that was not originally made for such purposes but can be used to kill people in certain cases, is used to assault or injure someone.

Objects recognized by the Supreme Court as dangerous include safety razor blades, unbroken beer bottles, screwdrivers, chairs, billiard cues, and automobiles.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.