Pedestrian Killed by Off-Leash Dog... Owner Who Left Scene Gets 1 Year 10 Months in Prison

Negligence Acknowledged in Cyclist's Death
Court: "Violation of Safety Obligations, Heavy Responsibility"

The court handed down a prison sentence to a dog owner whose unleashed dog, taken for a walk, killed a cyclist.

The court handed down a prison sentence to a dog owner whose unleashed dog, taken for a walk, killed a cyclist (photo provided for illustrative purposes and unrelated to the article). Pixabay

According to the legal community on February 21, the single-judge criminal panel of the Uijeongbu District Court sentenced Mr. A, who had been indicted on charges of violating the Animal Protection Act, to 1 year and 10 months in prison.

Mr. A was brought to trial on charges of failing to control his 2-year-old Greyhound while walking the dog on the Jungnangcheon stream trail in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, on the morning of May 24, 2024, after having it off-leash. At the time of the accident, the dog dashed toward an electric bicycle passing nearby, and Mr. B, a man in his 50s who could not avoid it, fell and was seriously injured.

Mr. B, who suffered a severe head injury, was immediately transported to a hospital and treated in the intensive care unit, but died a week after the accident due to brainstem damage and other injuries.

The investigation found that immediately after the accident, Mr. A left the scene, saying he would catch his fleeing dog, without adequately checking on the fallen victim.

In its written judgment, the court stated, "Owners of animals subject to registration have a legal duty, when taking them outside, to take measures to prevent harm, such as using a leash," and pointed out, "The defendant neglected this duty, which ultimately led to the grave consequence of the victim's death." It continued, "We determined the sentence by comprehensively considering that it is difficult to view the defendant as having taken appropriate emergency measures immediately after the accident, that no settlement was reached with the bereaved family, and that the bereaved family is calling for a severe punishment."

Based on the court's decision, Mr. A was sentenced to an actual prison term and was taken into custody in the courtroom.

The current Animal Protection Act requires that dogs be leashed when taken outside. Nevertheless, accidents in so-called "off-leash" situations, where dogs are not wearing leashes, continue to occur. In fact, the Supreme Court recently finalized a four-year prison sentence for a dog owner who left two fierce dogs unleashed without any control devices, causing injuries to people on four separate occasions.