40s Who Placed a 'No Parking' Sign on a 'Ilpae Parking' Vehicle... Acquitted in Appeal Trial

70,000 Won Fine for Property Damage in First Trial → Acquittal in Second Trial

A man in his 40s who placed a plastic "No Parking" sign on the roof of a vehicle belonging to a driver who habitually engaged in "inconsiderate parking" in a passageway outside of designated parking spaces in an apartment underground parking lot was acquitted in an appellate trial after being fined in the first trial.

According to the Korea Legal Aid Corporation on the 24th, the Uijeongbu District Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Shim Jun-bo) overturned the original verdict and acquitted Mr. A in the appellate trial. Mr. A had been fined 700,000 won in the first trial for property damage.

In January 2021, Mr. A discovered Mr. B’s passenger car parked in a passageway in the underground parking lot of the apartment complex and placed a plastic "No Parking" sign on the roof of the vehicle. It was reported that Mr. A took this action as a form of protest after repeatedly filing complaints with the management office about Mr. B’s vehicle habitually being parked in the parking lot passageway without any improvement.

Apartment underground parking lot (not directly related to the article content) / Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

Mr. B responded with a criminal complaint. Having secured CCTV footage, Mr. B submitted video evidence showing Mr. A placing the sign on his vehicle and filed a complaint. Mr. A also submitted a repair estimate worth approximately 350,000 won to the court, claiming scratches appeared on the roof.

The first trial court found Mr. A guilty of property damage and sentenced him to a fine of 700,000 won. Unable to accept this, Mr. A appealed with the assistance of the Korea Legal Aid Corporation.

The appellate court overturned the original verdict and acquitted Mr. A. The court judged that the sign was made of plastic and lightweight, and the CCTV footage showed Mr. A merely placing the sign on the roof without dragging or pulling it. Furthermore, there was no evidence that the scratched area on the vehicle roof corresponded to where the sign was placed, and the repair estimate was prepared six months after the incident with no actual repairs found, among other points noted.

Attorney Kim Sang-yoon of the Legal Aid Corporation said, "Despite insufficient evidence, the prosecution was aggressively pursued," and added, "We were able to argue that the original trial did not conduct sufficient examination, which led to the acquittal."