A 20-Year-Old Facing Court for Unpaid Taxi Fare... Saved by the Testimony of Their Homeroom Pastor

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A man in his 20s who was indicted for failing to pay a taxi fare exceeding 100,000 won was acquitted in the first trial. Although a guilty verdict was likely, the testimony of his pastor saved him. It was a decisive statement that he had no intention to evade the taxi fare. This testimony dismantled the prosecution's charges. The court also stated, "The charges cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

Prosecution's View = "Clear Fraud"

The charge applied by the prosecution to defendant A (26) in this case was fraud. They believed that A, who initially had neither the ability nor intention to pay the fare, deceived the taxi driver to obtain financial gain. The gist of the charges is as follows.

According to the prosecution, on December 1, 2019, around 2:30 a.m., A hailed a taxi near the intercity bus terminal in Yeoju-si, Gyeonggi Province. The destination was an apartment in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. At the time, A was undergoing alcohol addiction rehabilitation and staying at a church in Yeoju. The taxi A took arrived at the destination around 4 a.m., after 1 hour and 30 minutes of riding. The fare amounted to 125,000 won.

A tried to pay the fare by taking out a credit card and handing it to the taxi driver. It was a credit card given by B, the pastor of the church, to be used for transportation expenses. However, the card had been suspended due to a theft/loss report. The payment was declined, and the taxi driver reported him to the police. Eventually, A was brought to trial over this incident.

Pastor's Testimony = "An Unavoidable Situation"

Judge Kim Seong-hoon of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 19, who presided over the case, summoned Pastor B as a witness during the trial. Since A denied the prosecution's charges, they decided to call B to the court for questioning. B appeared as a witness at the second hearing of the case on July 9.

In court, B testified, "I gave A a credit card for transportation expenses on November 30 last year, one day before the incident." He also said, "A actually used the card to pay for bus fares and other expenses," adding, "Although it was given for transportation expenses, the usage was not specifically restricted."

B also explained the circumstances of reporting the card as lost or stolen. "On the day of the incident, just before A was to go to Seoul, he tried to withdraw cash with the card, but the withdrawal failed due to a password error, and a notification was sent to my phone. Concerned about the situation, I reported the card as lost at 2:31 a.m. that day."

Court's Judgment = "No Proof of Intent to Defraud"

The court found much of B's testimony credible and accepted it as evidence. This ultimately led to A's acquittal. The court stated, "Although A's actions were generally inappropriate, it is difficult to conclude that there was intent to defraud."

The court also found insufficient evidence to recognize that the credit card previously issued by B had been suspended or that A had been notified of such a possibility. The court said, "It would have been difficult for A to foresee that B's credit card might suddenly be declined."

The verdict for A was delivered on the 19th. The prosecution filed an appeal with the court six days later, on the 25th. In criminal trials, if dissatisfied with the first trial's result, an appeal can be filed within one week. The schedule for the second legal dispute has not yet been set.

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