"Unusual Rejection of KCSI Results" Suspected Sudden Acceleration Accident in Gangneung That Claimed Grandson's Life... Grandmother 'No Charges'

Gangneung Police Station, Decision Not to Prosecute Due to Insufficient Evidence
Police: "Insufficient Evidence of Driver's Fault"

Last December in Gangneung, a grandmother in her 60s who lost her 12-year-old grandson in a suspected sudden unintended acceleration accident and was booked on charges of involuntary manslaughter under the Special Act on the Treatment of Traffic Accidents was dismissed without indictment due to 'no charges.'

On the 17th, the Gangneung Police Agency announced that they decided not to indict grandmother A due to insufficient evidence in her case.

The police judged that the forensic results from the National Forensic Service (NFS) had limitations as they were not based on tests conducted by actually running the engine. Previously, the NFS had concluded that "there were no mechanical defects in the vehicle's braking system that could cause brake failure, and the accident likely occurred because the driver pressed the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal."

A woman in her 60s, who lost her 12-year-old grandson in a suspected sudden unintended acceleration accident in Gangneung last December and was booked on charges of involuntary manslaughter under the Special Act on the Treatment of Traffic Accidents, is seen leaving the police station with the support of her son after completing her first police interrogation on March 20. / Photo by Yonhap News

The police concluded that since the inspection was not able to verify the normal operation of the braking system or unexpected mechanical malfunction during actual vehicle operation, the NFS analysis results lacked sufficient evidence to support that the accident was caused by A’s negligence.

Additionally, since the private expert evaluation conducted during the civil lawsuit filed by A against the manufacturer contradicted the NFS analysis, it was judged that it would be difficult to hold A criminally liable based solely on the NFS results.

A’s side claimed a "sudden unintended acceleration accident caused by a vehicle defect" and filed a civil lawsuit against the manufacturer in January.

Lawyer Ha Jong-seon of the law firm Naru, representing A, said, "It is very unusual and appears to be the first case where the police did not adopt the NFS forensic results in a sudden unintended acceleration criminal case and decided not to indict."

On December 6 last year, in Hongje-dong, Gangneung City, a suspected sudden unintended acceleration accident occurred involving an SUV driven by A with her grandson Lee Dohyun on board, resulting in Dohyun’s death. The vehicle’s black box footage capturing the urgent situation at the time of the accident was released, and as A’s heartbreaking story became known, petitions seeking leniency for A were gathered from all over the country.

Also, in February, 50,000 people agreed to a petition posted by A’s family on the National Assembly’s public petition platform titled "Petition to shift the burden of proof for defect causes in suspected sudden unintended acceleration accidents," laying the groundwork for discussions on related law amendments.

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