Human Rights Commission: "Legal Amendments Needed to Expand Immunity Exceptions in Handling Military Personnel Traffic Accidents"

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRCK) has expressed the opinion that related legal amendments are needed to expand the exemption from liability for traffic accident handling for military personnel.

On the 25th, the NHRCK announced that on the 14th it expressed the opinion to the Speaker of the National Assembly that the 'Partial Amendment Act of the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling' should be promptly reviewed and amended to expand the exemption from liability for traffic accident handling for military personnel and others. The NHRCK Military Human Rights Protection Committee explained, "We judged that the petition falls under legislative matters and is not subject to investigation," but also stated, "Considering the high risk of prosecution when military personnel cause traffic accidents with military vehicles and the repeated occurrence of similar incidents, we expressed this opinion."

According to the NHRCK, petitioner A is a professional soldier who caused an accident while reversing in a parking lot within the military base, injuring a fellow soldier. However, when a traffic accident occurs between military personnel, the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling does not apply to the military personnel regardless of whether they have comprehensive automobile insurance, making them subject to prosecution. The petitioner filed the complaint arguing that this system constitutes discrimination based on the status of being a soldier.

The Army Headquarters responded, "If military personnel who are victims of traffic accidents sustain injuries related to the execution of duties such as combat or training, insurance companies have no compensation responsibility under the Constitution and the State Compensation Act's prohibition of double compensation," and added, "Even in cases where exemption applies under special terms related to military vehicles, insurance companies are not obligated to pay insurance benefits, so military personnel who cause traffic accidents may be subject to prosecution."

In response, the NHRCK stated, "When a traffic accident occurs between military personnel, the offending driver who fails to reach an amicable agreement with the victim may face criminal punishment and disciplinary action even in cases of minor negligence, placing them in a disadvantageous situation," and added, "It is discriminatory that the availability of insurance benefits and the possibility of criminal punishment vary simply because the victim at the time of the accident is a soldier." Furthermore, the NHRCK explained, "A bill has been proposed in the National Assembly to apply a non-prosecution exemption to offending drivers of official vehicles to ensure fairness in prosecution," and emphasized, "It is necessary to promptly review and amend the relevant bill."

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