"Filming with a Camera Installed in the Car"
Acquitted of Obligation to Present Driver's License Charge as Well
A YouTuber who live-streamed President Yoon Seok-yeol's commute and raised suspicions of a 'late arrival' was prosecuted for violating the Road Traffic Act but was acquitted.
According to the legal community on the 17th, the Seoul Northern District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Lim Jeong-yeop) acquitted YouTuber Jeong Byeong-gon, who was indicted for violating the Road Traffic Act, on the 13th. In 2023, Jeong filmed President Yoon moving from the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, to the presidential office and posted it on YouTube, claiming "President Yoon was late."
At the time, Jeong had his phone screen on to check his YouTube broadcast, and the police, seeing this, charged him with violating the prohibition on displaying video devices under the Road Traffic Act. Additionally, Jeong was asked by the police to present his driver's license but refused, resulting in an additional charge of violating the obligation to present a driver's license.
The court ruled, "According to the Road Traffic Act, the video that the driver must ensure is not displayed on the video display device while driving is 'video being received or played back,'" and "the video displayed at the top left of the defendant's phone screen at the time was footage recorded by a camera installed in the passenger car." The court further stated, "Streaming a broadcast by filming a YouTube channel video while driving is not a violation of the Road Traffic Act, nor does it apply when a police officer needs to verify the driver's identity," and acquitted him of the charge of violating the obligation to present a driver's license as well.
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