Where punishment is imposed on a person who commits a death or injury, such as arrest, confinement, etc., the lowest sentence of the punishment shall be imposed.

In accordance with Article 281 of the Criminal Act, the crime of bodily injury caused by confinement is subject to heavy punishment compared to that of the crime of confinement. The purport of the provision to impose heavy punishment is to compare each statutory punishment and to impose heavier punishment.

Articles 257(1), 276(1), and 281 of the Criminal Act

Defendant

Prosecutor

Msan District Court (82 High Court Decision 1819)

The judgment of the court below is reversed.

A defendant shall be punished by imprisonment for six months.

However, the execution of the above punishment shall be suspended for one year from the date of the final judgment.

Seized divers (No. 1) shall be confiscated.

The gist of the prosecutor’s appeal is that the court below erred by misapprehending the legal principles on the crime of injury resulting from confinement, thereby adversely affecting the judgment by imposing a fine, even though it cannot be punished by a fine.

In light of the records, the court below found the defendant guilty of the injury resulting from confinement in this case and decided to impose a heavy injury (Article 276(1) and Article 281 of the Criminal Act) and decided to impose a fine and sentenced the prescribed fine. Meanwhile, Article 281 of the Criminal Act provides that "any person who causes death or injury to another person by committing any crime in this Chapter shall be sentenced to heavy punishment compared to the crime of injury." The purpose of this provision is to interpret that the above provision is to impose a heavier punishment by comparing each statutory punishment of the crime of injury and the crime of confinement in this case with the crime of confinement in this case, and it is reasonable in light of the type of aggravated crime which added the result of death or injury to the crime of confinement in this case, which is a fundamental element of the crime of confinement in this case, as the above provision provides for the punishment of imprisonment for not more than five years, and thus, it cannot be viewed that the sentence of imprisonment for a more simple injury than the punishment of confinement in this case is a more severe punishment than the punishment of confinement in Article 257(1).

The relationship between facts constituting an offense acknowledged by a member and the evidence thereof is the same as that of the court below, and they are cited as it is.

Articles 281, 276(1), 50, and 62(1) and 48(1)1 of the Criminal Act (limited to imprisonment with prison labor for not more than seven years with prison labor, which is heavier than the maximum of seven years under Article 257(1)).

Judges Kim Jong-soo (Presiding Judge)