Regarding the incident in July 2020 where three citizens died due to flooding caused by heavy rain at the Choryang Underpass in Busan, the Supreme Court has confirmed the acquittal of four individuals, including the Busan City Disaster Response Director, the Deputy Mayor of Dong-gu Office, and two Dong-gu Office officials who worked there before the accident, on charges of professional negligence resulting in death. For the four Dong-gu Office officials who were also tried, the reduced sentences from the second trial compared to the first trial were upheld.
On the 27th, the First Division of the Supreme Court (Presiding Justice No Tae-ak) confirmed the original acquittal verdict for A, who was the Busan City Disaster Response Director at the time of the accident and was charged with professional negligence resulting in death and injury; B, the Deputy Mayor who acted as the Mayor of Dong-gu Office during the Mayor’s absence; and C and D, who had worked at Dong-gu Office before the accident.
The original trial court stated regarding A’s charges, "Although professional negligence is recognized, it is difficult to acknowledge that the emergency level was raised to 'Emergency Level 2' and the work shifts were expanded by the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Chief even if the duty of care was fulfilled, and A did not have the authority to unilaterally raise the emergency level," and thus acquitted A.
Furthermore, regarding B, who was acting as the Mayor of Dong-gu Office at the time of the accident, the court explained, "Since the Dong-gu Mayor returned immediately upon the issuance of the heavy rain warning during summer vacation, B’s status as acting Mayor ended, and even if professional negligence were recognized at the time of the heavy rain advisory, it is difficult to see a causal relationship with the accident."
Regarding C and D, who had been transferred to other departments before the accident, the court also judged that it was difficult to find a causal relationship due to professional negligence.
The Supreme Court stated, "There is no error in the original court’s judgment regarding the limits of free evaluation of evidence or in the legal principles concerning professional negligence resulting in death and injury, including professional negligence and substantial causation."
However, the Supreme Court upheld the original guilty verdicts for E, the Safety and Urban Development Director of Dong-gu Office (10 months imprisonment with 2 years probation), F, the Construction Director (10 months imprisonment with 2 years probation), G, the Head of the Mechanical and Electrical Department of Construction (1 year imprisonment with 2 years probation), and H, a staff member of the Mechanical and Electrical Department of Construction (15 million KRW fine). Appeals filed by these four defendants and the prosecution were all dismissed.
In July 2020, record-breaking heavy rain in the Busan area caused flooding at the Choryang Underpass, submerging six vehicles and resulting in the deaths of three citizens. In the first trial, all eight public officials charged were found guilty of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, but some acquittals and sentence reductions were made in the second trial.
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