"Grandmother Did Not Step on the Accelerator"... Results of the 'Gangneung Sudden Acceleration' Reenactment Test Revealed

Mismatch with Manufacturer's Shift Pattern
Full Acceleration Pressed but Speed Increase Differs

In December 2022, regarding the suspected sudden unintended acceleration accident involving Lee Dohyeon (aged 12 at the time of death), a detailed analysis by a court-appointed expert of the first domestic reenactment test conducted on the accident site road supported the claim that "Dohyeon's grandmother did not press the accelerator pedal." Contrary to the manufacturer's claims, the 'shift pattern' was different, and compared to the National Forensic Service's (NFS) analysis stating there was no defect in the vehicle, the 'driving data' was significantly different.

On the morning of the 27th, at TG Hall of Gangneung Church in Gangneung-si, Gangwon, Lawyer Ha Jong-seon of Law Office Naru, who is representing the family of Lee Do-hyun (12 years old at the time of death) regarding the suspected sudden acceleration accident of the vehicle in which Do-hyun died in December 2022, revealed the results of the expert examination from the first domestic reenactment test conducted last month.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Most notably, the speed change was much greater when the accelerator pedal was fully pressed, as recorded by the Event Data Recorder (EDR). Based on these results, Dohyeon's family emphasized, "It has been proven that the grandmother did not misoperate the pedal, and since there was no pedal misoperation, the sudden unintended acceleration was caused by a vehicle defect."

Reenactment Test Results Differed from Manufacturer's Shift Pattern Design Data

Dohyeon's family, who are engaged in a legal battle through a damages claim lawsuit against the vehicle manufacturer KG Mobility, disclosed the expert report of the official reenactment test conducted on the 19th of last month on the 27th. The test, carried out under police road control cooperation and the supervision of a court-appointed professional expert, was conducted using a 2018 Tivoli Air vehicle identical to the accident vehicle, equipped with a diagnostic device for the transmission system provided by the manufacturer.

On the morning of the 27th, at TG Hall of Gangneung Church in Gangneung-si, Gangwon, Lawyer Ha Jong-seon of Law Office Naru, who is representing the family of Lee Do-hyun (12 years old at the time of death) regarding the suspected sudden unintended acceleration accident in which Do-hyun died in December 2022, revealed the forensic results of the first domestic reenactment test conducted last month.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The expert report showed that, contrary to the manufacturer's claims, the shift pattern did not match the figures obtained from the actual driving. Specifically, when comparing the actual speed and the predicted speed from the shift pattern design data based on the shift information from the reenactment test, only 1 to 2 cases matched, while 8 to 9 cases showed differences ranging from 4 to 7 km/h at the low end to 54 to 81 km/h at the high end.

Attorney Ha Jongseon of Law Office Naru, representing Dohyeon's family, stated, "It has been confirmed that speed changes do not occur according to the shift pattern design data in the reenactment test," adding, "This is not realistic data applicable to this accident." The manufacturer had previously argued that the drop in revolutions per minute (RPM) from 5,900 at 4.5 to 5 seconds before the collision to 4,500 at 4 seconds before was due to a gear shift from 3rd to 4th gear while the accelerator pedal displacement was at 100% (full acceleration) according to EDR data. However, the attorney said, "Since it has been confirmed that speed changes do not occur according to the shift pattern design data, it is difficult to accept the manufacturer's claim."

Driving Data Such as Speed and RPM Significantly Different from NFS Analysis

On December 27, a reenactment test of the 'Automatic Emergency Braking' (AEB) function was conducted in the parking lot of Gangneung Church in Gangneung City, Gangwon Province, related to the suspected sudden acceleration accident of Lee Dohyun (12 years old at the time of death) who died in December 2022.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Compared to the National Forensic Service's analysis that "there is no defect in the vehicle and the driver misoperated the pedal," the driving data such as speed, RPM, and gear shifts from this reenactment test were significantly different. The difference was especially pronounced in the reenactment test conducted assuming the moment when the sudden acceleration occurred and the vehicle collided with a Morning passenger car. When rewinding to just before the Morning collision, at a speed of 40 km/h with the shift lever in Drive (D) and fully pressing the accelerator for 2 to 3 seconds, the actual speed increased from 40 to 73 km/h, RPM rose from 3,000 to 6,000, and the gear shifted from 4th to 2nd to 3rd. This is completely different from the NFS analysis, which stated that with the gear in Neutral (N), the speed and RPM remained steady at 40 km/h and 6,200 to 6,400 respectively.

Lee Sanghoon, Dohyeon's father and a bereaved family member, plans to present the reenactment test results as evidence in the damages claim lawsuit against the vehicle manufacturer KG Mobility, seeking approximately 760 million KRW in compensation. With a trial scheduled for June 18 at the Chuncheon District Court Gangneung Branch, the bereaved family and the manufacturer are expected to strongly contest the reenactment test results.

Meanwhile, the so-called Dohyeon Act, a proposed amendment to the Product Liability Act that would place the burden of proof for sudden unintended acceleration accidents on the manufacturer rather than the victim, was submitted to the 21st National Assembly but is expected to be discarded without discussion.