A stock photo of an electric unicycle. (123rf)
A stock photo of an electric unicycle. (123rf)

The Supreme Court recently confirmed a lower court ruling that said a defendant accused of violating the Road Traffic Act cannot be punished, because he had already been given a more lenient punishment by mistake.

The defendant had been stopped riding an electric unicycle — a self-balancing single wheel personal transporter — under suspicion of riding it while drunk on June 28, 2023. He refused to take a sobriety test, and was ordered by police to pay an administrative fine of 100,000 won ($72), which he paid shortly the following month.

The officer in question thought the unicycle was a "personal mobility" device, defined by the Road Traffic Act as a motorized personal vehicle with maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour and weighing under 30 kilograms. Drunk-driving of a personal mobility vehicle, or refusing to take a sobriety test while driving one, is subject to an administrative fine but not to criminal punishment.

But it was later found that the electric unicycle is actually categorized as a motorcycle. As such, the rider should have been subject to indictment and possible criminal punishment.

Despite the indictment by the prosecution, the district court had said police do not have the authority to revoke a punishment that has already been administered.

"Even if the law was wrongfully applied due to the mistake of those in charge, the defendant's rights must be protected.

The appellate court upheld the ruling, as did the country's highest court, finding no errors in the previous rulings’ interpretation of the law.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com