Case Type: Assault 

Result: Suspension of Sentence

Case Details :

1. Case Overview 

The client, a young individual in his 20s with no prior criminal record, encountered a former employee who had unlawfully trespassed and acted disruptively at the restaurant where the client worked after closing hours. In an effort to protect the store owner’s daughter who was present, the client politely requested the individual to leave. However, the individual initiated a physical altercation by violently pushing the client. In the process of losing his balance, the client reflexively extended his hand in defense, resulting in a minor contact lasting less than a second. Despite the defensive nature of the act, investigative authorities deemed it a mutual assault and issued a summary order with a fine of 300,000 KRW. Seeking to avoid career-ending disadvantages during his job search, the client filed for a formal trial.

2. Defense Strategies and Legal Representation 

The criminal defense team at Suhn Law Group presented established judicial precedents, including the Supreme Court Judgment No. 2009Do12958 decided on February 11, 2010, along with numerous lower court acquittals, to argue that the client’s actions constituted a defense of justification or self-defense. According to Supreme Court precedent, even if an altercation appears mutual on the surface, the illegality of the act is negated if one party exercises force purely as a defensive measure to protect oneself against an unlawful attack. Furthermore, as an alternative argument, the defense strategically emphasized mitigating factors, such as the client’s clean record as a first-time offender, the extremely minor degree of force captured on CCTV, and the failure to reach a settlement due to the counterpart’s extortionate settlement demands despite initiating the incident.

3. Court’s Decision 

Following a thorough review of the legal arguments and the circumstantial evidence presented by the defense, the Daejeon District Court ruled in favor of the client, granting a suspension of sentence. This favorable disposition effectively prevented the client from incurring a criminal record that would jeopardize his eligibility for public office or state-owned enterprise employment, successfully resolving his legal vulnerabilities.

Case Inquiry: Attorney May H. Kim, Attorney Min-hoo Kim