A man walking down the street was hit by a car and died... The perpetrator was found not guilty - here's why - South Korean media

A man in his 60s has been found not guilty of hitting and killing a man in his 40s who was walking down the street wearing dark clothing late at night.
According to the legal profession, on the 18th, at the Namyangju District Court in Uijeongbu
The Namyangju branch acquitted Defendant A, a man in his 60s who was indicted on charges of causing death under the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling.
Defendant A was arrested at around 1:30 a.m. on May 4, 2024 at Kapi, Gyeonggi-do.
He was indicted on charges of hitting and killing Mr. B (48) who was walking on a four-lane road in Gapyeong County with an SUV. At the time, Mr. B was wearing a dark coat and pants and was driving the car of Defendant A.
The accident occurred while passing through the darkest spot between street lights installed at 50 meter intervals. The police suspected that the accident was caused by Defendant A not paying attention to the road ahead.
The Special Cases Act charge of causing death was applied. However, while the court acknowledged that B died as a result of the impact of the traffic accident, it found it difficult to see that Defendant A had failed to fulfill his duty of care.
During the trial, attention was focused on the situation at the scene at the time, stating that "there were no residential or commercial facilities in the surrounding area, there was no pedestrian crossing, and it was a place where very few people passed by."
Furthermore, "At the time, the defendant was driving within the speed limit, but an analysis of the dashcam showed that the time when Defendant A was able to spot B was approximately 10 minutes before the accident.
"It was less than one second before the accident, and it appears that the accident could not have been avoided even if the driver had applied the brakes," he said, explaining the reason for the not guilty verdict.