Mental Evaluation of 30s Who Opened Aircraft Emergency Door...Prosecutors "Concerned It May Be Used for Sentence Reduction"

Mr. A's Side: "Diminished Mental Capacity... Not Intended for Sentence Reduction"

The court has decided to conduct a psychiatric evaluation on Mr. A (32), who was indicted for opening the aircraft door of a plane landing at Daegu Airport, causing panic among passengers.

At the trial held on the 24th at Daegu District Court Criminal Division 5 (Presiding Judge Jeong Jin-woo), the court accepted the request from Mr. A's side for a psychiatric evaluation, claiming diminished mental capacity.

The prosecutor stated, "It is doubtful whether the psychiatric evaluation can determine the defendant's diminished mental capacity at the time of the crime," and added, "There are concerns that the request for a psychiatric evaluation might be used to delay the trial or as a means for mitigation."

In response, Mr. A's defense attorney said, "The defendant reported to Jeju 119 on the day of the incident due to diminished mental capacity, contacted his family, and boarded the plane to go to the hospital," and added, "This request was made not for mitigation but because the defendant hopes to receive appropriate treatment and corresponding punishment and to safely reintegrate into society as a responsible citizen."

Im (33), who opened the emergency exit door of an aircraft landing at Daegu Airport, is attending the pre-arrest suspect hearing (warrant review) held at Daegu District Court on the afternoon of May 28. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Mr. A was prosecuted on charges of violating the Aviation Security Act for manipulating the emergency exit door lever and opening the emergency exit door while the Asiana Airlines flight from Jeju to Daegu was descending at an altitude of 224 meters over Daegu Airport at a speed of 260 km/h around 12:37 PM on May 26.

He is also charged with property damage for causing the external emergency escape slide of the aircraft to detach.

At the time of Mr. A's disturbance, there were 197 people on board the passenger plane, including passengers and crew members. Among them, nine people, including elementary school students, complained of breathing difficulties and were taken to the hospital.

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