Supreme Court: Agricultural 'Sabali' Is Not Subject to Unlicensed Driving Penalty

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Supreme Court has ruled that the agricultural motorcycle 'Sabali' is not subject to punishment for unlicensed driving.

On the 14th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jaehyung) announced that it overturned the original ruling that found Mr. A (87), who was indicted for unlicensed driving under the Road Traffic Act, guilty, and remanded the case to the Changwon District Court.

Previously, Mr. A was prosecuted for driving an unregistered two-wheeled vehicle (1007cc) Sabali without a driver's license and without insurance on a village road in Sacheon-si, Gyeongnam, between 2015 and 2016, and for hitting and injuring a motorcycle driver who was stopped.

The first trial court acquitted him. It judged that the Sabali driven by Mr. A is not a 'motor vehicle' as defined by the Road Traffic Act and the Automobile Damage Compensation Guarantee Act, but corresponds to an 'agricultural machine' under the Agricultural Mechanization Promotion Act. Regarding the motorcycle accident, the court also considered the possibility that Mr. A was actually the victim of a rear-end collision.

On the other hand, the second trial court ruled that "the defendant's vehicle does not qualify as a motor vehicle under the Automobile Damage Compensation Guarantee Act, but does qualify as a motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act," and found Mr. A guilty. However, the court suspended the imposition of a fine. A suspended sentence is a system that postpones the sentencing for a certain period for defendants with minor offenses, and if no specific incidents occur during that period, the sentence is waived.

However, the Supreme Court ordered a retrial with a verdict of not guilty. The court stated, "The vehicle in question, an agricultural power carrier, is an agricultural machine as defined in Article 2, Clause 1 of the Agricultural Mechanization Promotion Act," and "it does not fall under the category of motor vehicles subject to punishment for unlicensed driving." It added, "The original court erred in its interpretation of 'motor vehicle' as defined in Article 2, Clause 18 of the former Road Traffic Act, which affected the judgment."

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