The Supreme Court has ruled that a person cannot be punished for assault solely for frightening or startling someone.
The Supreme Court's First Division (presiding Justice Ma Yong-ju) said on the 10th that it overturned a lower court ruling that fined a person surnamed Kim (60) 300,000 won on an assault charge in a final appeal on the 2nd and sent the case back to the Uijeongbu District Court.
Kim, who was serving as chair of the residents' representative council of an apartment complex in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi, got into a dispute in the conference room around 10 p.m. on May 21, 2021, with auditor A over preparing the minutes. Angry, Kim flipped over the desk in front with both hands toward the direction where A was standing.
Article 260 of the Criminal Act provides that a person who commits an assault on another's body shall be punished by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 5 million won, among other penalties.
Prosecutors indicted Kim on an assault charge, but Kim's side argued during the trial that Kim "was angry at the interference with the proceedings and merely lifted the desk, did not exercise 'yuhyeongnyeok' (tangible force) against the victim, and had no intent to assault."
"Yuhyeongnyeok" means "the exertion of force that can cause physical pain to the body." It is not limited to cases involving bodily contact; the exercise of physical force that can cause mental pain is also included in "yuhyeongnyeok."
The first trial found Kim's conduct guilty. The first trial court determined that Kim's act constituted assault, citing, among other things, that Kim and A were less than 1 meter apart at the time, and that some fragments from the desk Kim flipped over flew onto A.
Kim appealed, but the second trial dismissed the appeal. The appellate court said, "It is confirmed that (Kim) was arguing with A just before flipping the desk," and added, "It can be recognized as the exercise of tangible force against the victim's body, and the intent to assault is sufficiently acknowledged."
The Supreme Court, by contrast, determined that "merely startling or frightening the victim cannot be regarded as 'assault.'" The court found that Kim flipped the desk toward the 12 o'clock direction, which was blocked by another desk, and it did not appear that there was a risk to A's body, who was standing at the 10 o'clock direction.