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The judgment of the court below is reversed.
Defendant shall be punished by a fine of KRW 15 million.
The above fine shall not be paid by the defendant.
Reasons
1. The summary of the grounds for appeal (unfair sentencing) of the lower court’s punishment (amounting to KRW 10 million) is too unhued and unreasonable.
2. According to Article 63(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act of the Discretionary Judgment of the Supreme Court, when the whereabouts of the defendant are unknown, a public notice may be served. Articles 23 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Promotion, etc. of Legal Proceedings, and Articles 18 and 19 of the Rules on Special Cases Concerning the Promotion, etc. of Legal Proceedings provide that if it is impossible to confirm the whereabouts of the defendant even though the defendant was requested to investigate the location of the defendant in order to identify his/her whereabouts, issued a arrest warrant, or taken other necessary measures, and if it is impossible to confirm the whereabouts of the defendant within six months after the receipt of the report, service on the defendant shall be served by public notice.
In this context, the six-month period is the minimum period established to protect the defendant's right to trial and the defendant's right to defense. As such, the court of first instance is not allowed to render a trial without the defendant's statement by serving public notice even after six months have not passed since the date of receipt of the report (see, e.g., Supreme Court Decisions 2012Do300, Apr. 26, 2012; 2015Do9572, Dec. 10, 2015). In this case, according to the records, the court of first instance entrusted the defendant with the detection of the defendant's whereabouts on May 4, 2017 to the head of the Gyeyang Police Station in Gyeyang-gu and the head of the Yongsan Police Station in Incheon, Incheon, and the court of first instance was unable to confirm the defendant's whereabouts on June 29, 2017 by the defendant's appearance on the date of public trial and the court of appeal No. 2016, Jul. 26, 2017.