"World is Turbulent, Just Left" 'Dog Hit-and-Run' 50s Fined Again in Second Trial

"Owner shouting was seen, but accident was unknown," claim
Court: "Observed from afar after parking... must have known about accident"
Appealing 1st and 2nd trial fines of 2.5 million won

A man in his 50s, who faced criminal trial over a ‘dog hit-and-run’ incident, denied all charges but was sentenced to a fine again in the appellate court following the first trial. ▶Refer to Asia Economy’s July 17 article "'Dog Hit-and-Run' Excuse: 'Just Looking Is Sexual Harassment, The World Is So Dangerous' [Seocho-dong Legal Story]"

The photo is unrelated to the article content. [Image source=Pixabay]

According to the legal community on the 26th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeals Division 4-2 (Chief Judge Lee Tae-woo) sentenced Mr. A, who was charged with violating the Road Traffic Act (failure to take action after an accident), to a fine of 2.5 million KRW, the same as in the first trial, stating that "he must have at least tacitly recognized the accident." The court stated, "The defendant parked his vehicle and then watched the situation from a distance near the accident site for several minutes before leaving. It is hard to see this behavior as that of someone completely unaware of the accident. Furthermore, he only reported the accident to the insurance company about two hours later, without taking any other measures such as rescue or restoring traffic order."

Earlier, on September 20, 2021, at 8 p.m., Mr. A was driving a Mercedes-Benz passenger car and entered an apartment complex in Jongno-gu, Seoul, when he ran over a dog belonging to Ms. B, who was crossing the crosswalk, with both the front and rear wheels. After hearing Ms. B’s screams, Mr. A stopped for about 7 to 8 seconds in front of the parking barrier and then proceeded into the underground parking lot. The dog was taken to an animal hospital emergency room but died, and the scene was cleaned up by Ms. B and other residents. Ms. B checked the accident vehicle at the apartment management office and tried to contact Mr. A, but he did not respond. Mr. A parked his car in the parking lot, watched the situation from a distance, and then contacted the insurance company.

The prosecution filed a summary indictment against Mr. A. When the court issued a summary order for a fine of 2.5 million KRW, he requested a formal trial. During the trial, he defended himself by saying, "There are so many unfortunate incidents in the world that I didn’t want to get involved at all," and "These days, even just looking at someone can be linked to sexual harassment, so I was worried about misunderstandings." His lawyer argued, "It was a dark night, and the dog was a small, dark-colored breed that was hard to see. Mr. A thought Ms. B was simply picking a fight without reason. If he had intended to flee, he would have gone somewhere farther, not into the underground parking lot."

The first trial sentenced him to a fine of 2.5 million KRW. At that time, the court pointed out, "The black box footage was shaky, and the victim screamed. Mr. A stopped and saw the victim’s startled expression in the side mirror. If he had gotten out of the car to check directly, he would have known about the dog accident, but he left as is." The appellate court agreed with this judgment. Mr. A also rejected the appellate court’s decision and said he would seek a ruling from the Supreme Court.

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