Are Plastic Toys and Lighters Also Considered Dangerous Objects?

Everyday Items Can Also Lead to Aggravated Assault or Aggravated Bodily Injury Charges If Misused

"Are canned beers considered dangerous objects?" "If someone hits another person with a green onion, is it considered assault or aggravated assault? Lawyers, please let us know."

These are some of the questions that frequently appear on social networking services (SNS). People are curious about what objects are legally deemed "dangerous."

Image to aid understanding of the article. Pixabay

According to the Criminal Act, if a person assaults another's body while carrying a "dangerous object," the charge of aggravated assault applies. If convicted of aggravated assault, the penalty is imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 10 million won, which is higher than the penalty for simple assault.

There is currently no precedent regarding what crime is recognized if someone hits another person with a green onion. However, by examining existing case law, we can see which objects have been judged as dangerous and under what circumstances those judgments were made.

Toys and Pen Refills Also Deemed 'Dangerous'

There are precedents where objects that may not intuitively seem dangerous have been recognized as such. One example is a plastic toy (8.9 cm thick, 12 cm long). The Cheongju District Court found a defendant guilty of aggravated assault for throwing a plastic toy at a victim's left eye area (Cheongju District Court Case 2025Godan171).

Even if they are toys, toy guns or BB guns have been recognized as "dangerous objects" when fired (Seoul Northern District Court Case 2015Godan3304, Daejeon District Court Gongju Branch Case 2014Godan209), or when used as blunt instruments to strike someone (Suwon District Court Case 2015Godan3481), resulting in charges of aggravated assault or aggravated bodily injury.

The size of the object does not significantly affect whether it is deemed dangerous. A disposable lighter, though small, was considered a dangerous object when used to strike a victim's head or arm, resulting in injury and a conviction for aggravated bodily injury (Uijeongbu District Court Case 2025No566).

Pen refills can also be sufficiently dangerous. The Seoul High Court ruled that a pen refill, used to stab a victim in the back and cause injury, was a dangerous object capable of harming the body, and found the defendant guilty of aggravated bodily injury (Seoul High Court Case 2024No1975).

Mechanical Pencil: Conflicting Rulings in First Trial and Appeal

Not all cases result in the same judgment. There was a case where the first trial and the appellate court differed in their assessment of a mechanical pencil. The first trial found the mechanical pencil to be a dangerous object, but the appellate court examined the specific conduct and ruled, "Given the circumstances and manner, the act of tapping the victim's back, who was wearing a school uniform during class, to make them turn around, cannot be considered as having been used in a way that could harm the victim's life or body" (Suwon High Court Case 2023No1234).

Kitchen Knives, Scissors, Golf Clubs Deemed 'Dangerous'

Kitchen knives, sashimi knives, box cutters, and scissors are intuitively recognized as "dangerous," and recent court rulings have made the same assessment. Other objects that can be imagined as dangerous when swung, such as baseball bats, golf clubs, and umbrellas, have also been judged similarly.

Reporter Park Suyeon, The Law Times

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.