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The judgment of the court below is reversed.
Defendant shall be punished by a fine of three million won.
The above fine shall not be paid by the defendant.
Reasons
1. The summary of the grounds for appeal (e.g., a fine of three million won) of the lower court is too unreasonable.
2. We examine the legality of the decision of the court below by public notice ex officio.
A. Article 23 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Promotion, etc. of Legal Proceedings and Articles 18(2) and (3) and 19(1) of the Enforcement Rule of the same Act provide that, when the whereabouts of the defendant is not verified even though the defendant was taken necessary measures to confirm the whereabouts of the defendant, service by public notice shall be made in the latter case. Article 63(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act provides that service by public notice shall be made only when the dwelling, office, or present location of the defendant is unknown. Thus, if other contact numbers of the defendant appear in the record, service by public notice shall be conducted immediately without taking such measures, and it shall not be permitted to serve by public notice and render a judgment without the defendant's statement.
(see, e.g., Supreme Court Decisions 2006Do3892, Jul. 12, 2007; 201Do6762, Jul. 28, 2011). (B)
According to the records, the court of original judgment attempted to serve the defendant with a copy of indictment, a writ of summons, etc. as "J, 101 of the Government-Si Department," which is the address stated in the indictment, and made a decision of service by public notice thereafter.
C. However, in the instant indictment, the contact information of the Defendant is written as K, and the contact information of the Defendant is written as “L” in the application for formal trial.
In light of the legal principles as seen earlier, the lower court concluded that the Defendant’s whereabouts cannot be confirmed immediately without taking such measures despite having to have tried to contact with the above contact point prior to making a decision by public notice, and that documents related to the lawsuit cannot be served by public notice.