"Didn't wear a seatbelt?"... Jeju Open Car Fatal Accident, 30s Male Driver 'Not Guilty'

Prosecution Claims "Crime Committed After Rejection of Breakup Demand"
Court States "No Internal Motive for Murder... Insufficient Evidence"

The open car at the time of the accident. / Photo by SBS from the capture of 'Unanswered Questions'

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] A man in his 30s who was accused of causing a traffic accident while driving under the influence in Jeju, resulting in the death of his girlfriend, was acquitted of murder charges. He was found guilty only of DUI and was sentenced to a suspended prison term.

On the 16th, the Criminal Division 2 of Jeju District Court (Chief Judge Jang Chan-su) sentenced A (34), who was indicted without detention on charges of murder and DUI, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension.

Earlier, on November 10, 2019, around 1 a.m., A was driving a rented open-top car in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, when he caused an accident that led to the death of his girlfriend B, who was seated in the passenger seat.

They had traveled to Jeju Island to celebrate their 300th day of dating, and A was driving a Ford Mustang Convertible, an open-top car, in a state of intoxication with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.118%, which is at the level of license cancellation. B, who was riding in the passenger seat without wearing a seatbelt, was thrown out of the vehicle by the impact of the accident, suffering severe head injuries, and died in an unconscious state in August of last year.

According to a recording released at the second trial last month, at the time of the accident, when the seatbelt warning sound went off, A said, "You didn't wear your seatbelt?" and then sped up with a loud roar. Subsequently, A caused an accident by hitting the curb and stone wall on the right side of the road, as well as a cultivator in succession.

Jeju District Court. /Photo by Yonhap News

The police concluded there was no intent to murder and applied charges under the Special Act on the Treatment of Traffic Accidents, sending A to the prosecution. However, the prosecution indicted A without detention on murder charges.

The prosecution judged that A committed the crime because B repeatedly refused his requests to break up, and that they had argued over similar issues right before the incident.

The prosecution cited reasons such as △ B’s refusal to accept A’s breakup requests △ A’s question "You didn’t wear your seatbelt?" 19 seconds before the accident based on the black box footage △ A accelerating to 114 km/h five seconds before the accident, arguing that "A deliberately caused the accident."

However, A’s defense attorney stated, "The prosecution seems to judge ‘since they argued, it’s understandable to kill’ by citing some disputes unfavorable to the defendant between the defendant and the victim. This case was forcibly prosecuted without a reasonable explanation."

He added, "The defendant’s remark ‘You didn’t wear your seatbelt?’ was an ordinary caution to inform about the lack of seatbelt wearing given the atmosphere at the time. If the defendant intended to kill the victim, he would not have made a statement that could have prevented the crime."

Meanwhile, the court explained that although A and victim B had disputes, there was no internal motive such as malice or grudge for murder, and considering the nature of the roofless vehicle, which could have endangered A’s life as well in the event of an accident, it was not recognized that A chose the open-top car as a means to commit the crime.

The court stated, "According to Supreme Court precedents, a verdict on murder can be made based on circumstantial evidence without direct evidence," but added, "The circumstantial evidence must be overwhelmingly sufficient regarding motive, method, and the process leading to the crime, but the circumstantial evidence presented in this case is insufficient."

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