A dog owner who kept two dangerous dogs without leashes at a house with no fence or wall and injured a neighbor and a delivery worker received a finalized sentence of four years in prison without labor.
The Supreme Court's Second Division (Presiding Justice Park Young-jae) said on Jan. 10 that on Dec. 24 last year it finalized a lower court ruling sentencing a person surnamed Noh (54), indicted on charges of violating the Animal Protection Act and Injury by Gross Negligence, to four years in prison without labor.
Noh lived in a dwellings made from a shipping container in Goheung County, South Jeolla Province. No fence or wall was installed. Noh kept two dangerous dogs, a Dogo Canario and a Volkodav, at this house.
There were four dog-bite incidents. On Feb. 15, 2024, the two dogs, off their leashes, attacked delivery worker A, who suffered an abrasion on the left buttock and a laceration on the right buttock. However, that case ended with "no right of prosecution" because A did not want punishment.
On Mar. 24 that same year, Noh's Volkodav ran out of the yard and bit passerby B on the right calf.
On Aug. 22, the Volkodav ran out of the house and bit delivery worker C on both buttocks three times. C suffered "multiple animal bites," with no way to know when treatment would be completed.
On Oct. 9 as well, the two dogs repeatedly bit a delivery worker who visited the house on both thighs and the right calf, causing injuries.
On Nov. 3, the two dogs ran to a coastal road about 40 meters away and repeatedly bit D on the face and testicles. D suffered injuries including a "torn wound of the scrotum" that required three weeks of treatment.
All the dog-bite incidents occurred in 2024, and the dogs were not leashed.
At the first trial, Noh was sentenced to four years in prison without labor, and the two dangerous dogs Noh kept were confiscated. Noh's side argued that the prosecutor abused the right of prosecution and that D was not bitten by Noh's dog. However, the first-trial court did not accept those claims.
The first-trial court said, "The defendant must take necessary measures to prevent dog-bite incidents commensurate with the dogs' aggressiveness and danger," adding, "The duty of care is the minimum obligation the defendant bears as the dog owner."
It continued, "The defendant was also asked by people nearby to keep the dogs leashed to prevent dog-bite incidents," adding, "Putting up a banner reading 'Beware of dog' at the dwellings entrance road was a markedly insufficient measure to prevent dog-bite incidents."
During the trial, Noh filed complaints and accusations against three victims, saying they trespassed on private property at the time of the dog-bite incidents and falsely accused Noh, as well as against the police officer in charge, the indicting prosecutor, and the trial prosecutor. Noh and a spouse also held a loud protest in front of the court and insulted people involved in the case.
The first-trial court said, "The circumstances after the crime are also very poor," adding, "The defendant appeared to mock and disregard witnesses in court."
The second trial also sentenced Noh to four years in prison without labor. However, it ordered the confiscation only of the Volkodav among the two dogs.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and finalized the lower court's ruling, saying Noh's claim that the sentence was unduly heavy did not constitute a legitimate ground for appeal.
Geumgo (imprisonment without labor) means the convict is confined in a prison the same as with jailing (imprisonment with labor), but unlike imprisonment with labor, geumgo does not require labor.