Female college student who died after jumping from taxi due to kidnapping misunderstanding... driver acquitted

Hearing Test Reveals Age-Related Hearing Loss
"Jumping from Taxi Was Entirely Unforeseeable"
Both Taxi Driver and SUV Driver Acquitted

Court. Asia Economy DB

The driver involved in the so-called 'Pohang Taxi Jumping Incident,' in which a passenger who misunderstood the taxi heading in a different direction as a kidnapping jumped out and died, was acquitted.

On the 18th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Eom Sang-pil) announced that it confirmed the lower court's acquittal of taxi driver Mr. A on the 23rd of last month. Mr. A had been prosecuted on charges of causing death by negligence in the course of duty (vehicular manslaughter under the Road Traffic Act) for the death of a 20-year-old university student, Mr. B.

On March 4, 2022, at around 8:45 p.m., Mr. A picked up university student Mr. B as a passenger at Pohang Station in Pohang City, Gyeongbuk Province. According to the black box footage, Mr. B closed the taxi door and stated the destination as "Please go to ○○-daero," but Mr. A misheard and asked, "Is it Handong University?" to which Mr. B replied, "Yes." Soon after, when the taxi headed in a different direction from the destination, Mr. B asked Mr. A, "Is this the right way?" However, Mr. A, who had hearing difficulties, did not hear this.

Mr. B sent messages to his boyfriend saying, "The taxi is going somewhere strange," "It's driving extremely fast," and "I tried to talk but he ignored me." Later, Mr. B asked, "Sir, can you let me get off?" but Mr. A did not respond. Thinking he was being kidnapped, Mr. B opened the taxi door, and when a startled Mr. B asked, "Why are you doing this?" and the taxi slowed down, he jumped out of the vehicle. Mr. B was then hit and killed by an SUV following behind.

A hearing test revealed that Mr. A had presbycusis (age-related hearing loss). The prosecution charged Mr. A, citing reckless driving such as changing lanes without signaling in a no-passing zone, failure to check on Mr. B's condition, and negligence in managing his hearing impairment, holding him responsible for Mr. B's death. The SUV driver was also prosecuted alongside Mr. A for negligence in maintaining forward attention and safe distance.

Photo unrelated to the article content. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Mr. A was acquitted in the first trial. The court stated, "Mr. A recognized the victim's destination as Handong University from Pohang Station," and "From Mr. A's perspective, it was unforeseeable that Mr. B would be frightened and jump out of a taxi traveling on a motor vehicle-only road at speeds exceeding 80 km/h." The SUV driver was also acquitted, with the court noting, "It would have been difficult to avoid the accident even if the victim had been spotted early."

The prosecution appealed, arguing, "This was an accident that could have been prevented if the drivers had fulfilled their duty of care," but the second trial upheld the first trial's decision. The appellate court acknowledged that "Mr. A's failure to wear a hearing aid or receive treatment despite hearing loss ultimately increased Mr. B's anxiety," but also ruled that "the drivers could not have foreseen that Mr. B would open the taxi door and jump out." The prosecution filed a final appeal, but the Supreme Court dismissed it, stating, "There is no error in the lower court's application of the law," thereby confirming the acquittal of both drivers.