Defendant's Side: "There Was No Intent"
[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] At the third trial of a man in his 30s accused of causing the death of his partner in an accident while driving an open car under the influence in Jeju, the victim's family urged the court to impose a severe punishment.
At the third hearing of the 'Jeju Open Car Death Case' held on the 13th at the Jeju District Court's 2nd Criminal Division (Presiding Judge Jang Chan-su), the victim's mother pleaded with the court to apply a murder charge against the defendant, Mr. A (34, male). During this trial, witness examinations were conducted for the victim Ms. B's (28, female) sister and mother, who were called by the prosecution.
Ms. B's sister said, "My sister's only dream was to live with her family," adding, "The hospital said from the beginning that there was no chance for her to survive, but we just hoped she would keep breathing. However, she eventually passed away in an unconscious state."
She continued, "No matter how much I think about it, after having an argument with my sister, as soon as he said, 'You didn't wear your seatbelt?' and then suddenly accelerated causing the accident, it was an act to kill my sister," urging for a harsh punishment for Mr. A.
Ms. B's mother also appealed, saying, "How could someone who was about to get married and was in a critical condition not come to visit even once?" and pleaded, "Please clear my daughter's grievances."
Earlier, Ms. B died in a traffic accident during a trip to Jeju Island to celebrate 300 days of dating with Mr. A. On November 10, 2019, around 1 a.m., Mr. A drove a Ford Mustang Convertible open car in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, while intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.118%, which is at the level of license cancellation.
In a recording released at the second trial last month, Mr. A said, "You didn't wear your seatbelt?" when the seatbelt warning sound went off just before the accident, then accelerated with a loud roar. Afterwards, Mr. A caused an accident by hitting the curb, a stone wall, and a cultivator on the right side of the road in succession.
Ms. B, who was riding in the passenger seat without wearing a seatbelt at the time, was thrown out of the vehicle due to the impact and suffered severe head injuries. She passed away in an unconscious state in August of last year.
The police sent Mr. A to the prosecution on charges of violating the Special Act on Traffic Accident Processing, but the prosecution indicted him without detention on murder charges. The prosecution judged that Mr. A committed the crime because he had repeatedly asked Ms. B to break up, but she continuously refused, and they had argued over similar issues until just before the incident.
On the other hand, the defendant's defense attorney continued to argue that "there was no intent in the accident." The defense stated, "They were taking affectionate photos during the Jeju trip until the day of the accident," and claimed, "Charging him with murder is an excessive prosecution by the prosecution."
Meanwhile, the court plans to hold the fourth trial on November 4.
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