Truck Driver Who Caused Death of Doctor Commuting to Hospital by Bicycle Faces Trial

Professor Joo Seok-jung of Seoul Asan Medical Center was fatally struck by a truck driver and the driver has been brought to trial.

The Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Hee-young) announced on the 27th that a man in his 60s, identified as A, a dump truck driver, was indicted on the 24th on charges of violating the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling (causing death).

Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

According to the prosecution, A is accused of hitting Professor Joo, who was crossing a crosswalk on a bicycle near an intersection in Pungnap-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, with a dump truck on June 16 of last year, causing his death.

The prosecution stated, "Considering that dump trucks have many blind spots and pose a high risk, requiring especially careful attention to the front and sides compared to regular vehicles, but the driver neglected this duty, ultimately causing the victim's death, we have decided to formally indict him." They added, "We will make every effort to ensure that an appropriate sentence corresponding to the crime is handed down during the trial process."

Meanwhile, Professor Joo had been working as a thoracic surgery specialist at Seoul Asan Medical Center since 1998. He served as an executive director of the Korean Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, chairman of the Aortic Research Society, and was the director of the Aortic Disease Center at Seoul Asan Medical Center's Heart Hospital.