Driver in School Zone Incident Triggering 'Minsik Act' Sentenced to 2 Years Imprisonment

Court: "Victims' parents suffered severe pain... However, considering the low speed of the vehicle at the time"

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] A 40-year-old defendant who triggered the 'Minsik Act,' which calls for tougher punishment for drivers causing fatal accidents in school zones, was sentenced to two years in prison.

On the 27th, the Cheonan Branch of Daejeon District Court, Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Choi Jae-won), announced that A (44), who was indicted on charges of violating the Special Act on the Treatment of Traffic Accidents (causing death), was sentenced to two years in prison.

The court stated, "The accident occurred in a school zone with a two-lane road and a crosswalk, near a middle school, an elementary school, and apartments," adding, "The defendant hit the victim and applied the brakes late. If the brakes had been applied sooner, the death could have been prevented."

It further explained, "The parents of Minsik suffered severe mental anguish and demand strict punishment for the defendant, and there are concerns about the aftereffects of the mental shock experienced by Minsik's younger sibling who was also involved in the accident," but "considering that the defendant has shown remorse and that the vehicle's speed at the time was below the speed limit (30 km/h), these factors were taken into account in sentencing."

A was brought to trial on charges of hitting and killing Kim Minsik (then 9 years old) with a vehicle while crossing a crosswalk in a school zone in front of a middle school main gate in Asan, Chungnam, around 6 p.m. on September 11 last year, and injuring Minsik's younger sibling with injuries requiring two weeks of medical treatment.

Earlier, on the 16th, the prosecution requested a five-year prison sentence at the sentencing hearing, stating, "A child was not protected in a school zone and died, causing great pain to the bereaved family."

Imprisonment is one of the punishments prescribed by criminal law, classified as a form of deprivation of personal liberty along with penal servitude and detention. Like penal servitude, it involves incarceration in prison, but unlike penal servitude, forced labor is not imposed within the prison.

On December 10 last year, Park Cho-hee (left), the mother of the late Kim Min-sik, and Kim Tae-yang, his father, shed tears while watching the passage of the partial amendment to the Road Traffic Act (Min-sik Act) from the gallery of the National Assembly plenary session hall. Photo by Yonhap News

This accident became the impetus for the so-called 'Minsik Act,' which amended the Road Traffic Act and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. The 'Minsik Act' includes provisions for harsher penalties for drivers who cause death or injury by failing to comply with safe driving obligations in school zones.

The legislation consists of two bills: the 'Road Traffic Act Amendment,' which mandates the installation of traffic lights and speed cameras in school zones, and the 'Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes Amendment,' which imposes heavier penalties on offenders causing death or injury due to negligence of safe driving duties in school zones. The 'Minsik Act' has been in effect since the 25th of last month.

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