Lawyers Lament Seoul City Hall Station Accident "Multiple Casualties... Sentences May Not Be Severe"

"Nine Dead, but Maximum Sentence Is Low"

A lawyers' group mainly composed of young people in their 20s and 30s recently expressed concerns that the legal punishment for the driver responsible for the tragic traffic accident near City Hall Station is expected to be light.

The "Young Lawyers' Association for a New Future" stated in a press release on the 3rd, "Although the City Hall Station accident resulted in nine deaths and is a crime causing multiple casualties, it is evaluated under criminal law as a single charge of professional negligence causing death or injury, so the maximum sentence that can be imposed may not be severe." They added, "Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling stipulates that professional negligence causing death or injury can be punished by imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 20 million won."

On the 3rd, a safety fence was installed between a road and a sidewalk in downtown Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The group said, "If this crime is considered a single professional negligence causing death or injury, resulting in concurrent offenses, the perpetrator's sentence is expected to be determined within five years." They continued, "Of course, the court may consider all circumstances, evaluate the extent of the victim's damage and the aggravating or mitigating factors of the perpetrator, and impose a sentence outside the recommended sentencing guidelines, but this is also uncertain." Concurrent offenses refer to one act corresponding to multiple charges.

They added, "Unlike South Korea, the United States recognizes multiple charges if a single driving incident causes multiple deaths simultaneously." They explained, "Sentences vary by state in the U.S., but in Texas, a driver who crashed into a crowded bus stop causing eight deaths was sentenced to 60 years in prison." They also said, "In Florida, a perpetrator of a traffic accident that caused two deaths was sentenced to 280 months (23 years and 4 months) in prison and 12 months of probation."

They further stated, "Although the detailed facts of these cases differ significantly from this case, the reason for the unusually long sentences is that common law countries, represented by the U.S., recognize multiple counts of murder when multiple people die in a traffic accident."

The group said, "While the perpetrator will receive a finite punishment, it is very sad and worrisome that the deceased victims no longer have a future."

On the afternoon of the 1st, around 12:27 PM, a Genesis vehicle crashed onto the sidewalk at an intersection near Seoul Subway Line 2 City Hall Station, striking pedestrians waiting at the crosswalk. The accident resulted in sixteen casualties, including nine deaths and seven injuries.