Staggering and 'Kkwadang'... Driver Fully Pays Medical Expenses for Bicycle Fallen Alone, Found 'Not Guilty' in Trial

On July 22nd last year, a story was revealed on the YouTube channel 'Han Moon-cheol TV' about a driver who paid approximately 22 million won in medical expenses for a non-contact traffic accident.
[Photo by YouTube 'Han Moon-cheol TV' capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A driver who paid about 22 million KRW in medical expenses due to a non-contact traffic accident with a bicycle was acquitted in court.

According to the court on the 5th, the Changwon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Lee Jeonghyun) acquitted driver A, who was indicted without detention last month on charges of violating the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling (injury).

At around 7 a.m. on March 22 last year, A was driving an SUV and passing through a four-lane intersection in Miryang-si, Gyeongsangnam-do. At that time, A’s vehicle speed was 42 km/h, exceeding the speed limit of 30 km/h.

A entered the intersection as the traffic light turned yellow, and at that moment, a bicycle traveling in the opposite direction from the right side of the vehicle toward the intersection wobbled and lost balance, falling down. The traffic light for the bicycle’s direction was red.

As a result of the accident, bicycle rider B (79) suffered a femoral neck fracture and was diagnosed with a 12-week recovery period. A covered the entire medical expense of about 22 million KRW for B’s treatment.

In particular, this case became controversial after A directly reported it to the YouTube channel 'Han Mooncheol TV' in July last year.

At that time, A expressed feelings of unfairness regarding the accident. A said, "It was hard to accept that the bicycle fell because of me, but I provided first aid at the scene and compensated the full medical expenses through my insurance." He added, "However, B’s side seemed to demand excessive settlement money, threatening criminal charges."

In response, lawyer Han Mooncheol advised, "Claim innocence by arguing that this accident occurred regardless of whether you violated the signal and that it happened in a 'dilemma zone'." The dilemma zone refers to the area where a driver hesitates whether to stop before the stop line or quickly pass through as the traffic light changes from green to yellow.

Additionally, lawyer Han suggested, "If you have driver’s insurance, hire a lawyer and claim innocence," adding, "Use the criminal settlement money from the driver’s insurance to settle with the bicycle rider and reduce the possibility of imprisonment."

Eventually, A was brought to trial, and the prosecution demanded a six-month prison sentence. However, A’s lawyer argued, "There is no duty of care to foresee a bicycle traveling in the opposite direction at the intersection, and B fell by losing control after riding a bicycle that did not fit his body size and failing to properly operate the control device," and requested a citizen jury trial.

At the subsequent citizen jury trial, seven jurors unanimously acquitted A. The court also made the same judgment.

The court stated the acquittal was based on reasons including "the driver’s vehicle was located about 7.2 meters away from the stop line just before reaching it, the victim noticed the defendant’s vehicle late and tried to stop urgently, and the victim had already lost balance and control of the bicycle before the defendant passed the stop line, so even if the defendant did not violate the signal, the victim could have fallen."

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