Supreme Court: "No Need for Aid After Traffic Accident... Fleeing Does Not Constitute Hit-and-Run Injury Crime"

Supreme Court, Seocho-dong, Seoul / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Supreme Court has ruled that even if a driver who caused a traffic accident leaves without providing personal information, they cannot be punished for hit-and-run injury if it is determined that first aid or other assistance was not necessary at the time of the accident.

On the 4th, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Noh Jeonghee) overturned the lower court's sentence of imprisonment in the appeal trial of Kim, who was prosecuted for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (hit-and-run injury), and remanded the case to the Gwangju District Court. The ruling implies that whether the hit-and-run injury charge applies should be judged based on whether first aid was actually necessary at the accident scene.

Previously, Kim was indicted for driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.049% in 2019, colliding with an oncoming vehicle, and fleeing without providing personal information to the victim. The first trial sentenced him to 1 year and 3 months in prison. At that time, the court found him guilty of drunk driving, unlicensed driving, and failure to take action after the accident, but acquitted him of the hit-and-run injury charge. This was because the two vehicles only lightly grazed each other, resulting in minor damage, and thus there was no need for first aid. However, the second trial ruled him guilty of the hit-and-run injury charge as well, judging that Kim should have taken all measures, including providing personal information to the victim in addition to first aid.

The Supreme Court overturned this lower court ruling. The court stated, "The lower court did not examine whether it was necessary to take first aid measures for the victim at the time, and judged that Kim violated the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes solely because he failed to fulfill the 'obligation to provide personal information' under the Road Traffic Act and left the accident scene," and thus remanded the case.