유해식품사고에 대한 손해배상책임

Abstract

This thesis discusses the law of compensation in the aspect of the tort law regarding a hazardous food accident that causes damage to victim due to the lack of safety of food, which is an essential item for maintaining human life and health. Its main contents are summarized as follows. First, if the damage is caused to the victim due to the harmfulness of primary food that has not been processed since it has been primitively produced, the liability of the producer becomes a problem. There are legislative theories or interpretation theories insisting on the application of the Product Liability Act to the primary food producer, but under the provisions of the current Product Liability Act, the primary food cannot be recognized as a manufactured product as it has not been manufactured or processed, so the Product Liability Act cannot be applied. Therefore, the primary food producer will inevitably bear the responsibility for tort under civil law. If the primary food producer is to be liable for tort under civil law, it is necessary to discuss the duty of care of the producer. Since the safety required for food should be called absolute stability or unconditional stability, the degree regarding the duty of care of the food producer is higher than a general duty of care. Second, if the damage is caused to the victim due to the harmfulness of the secondary food made by processing the primary food or by mixing other ingredients, the liability of the manufacturer becomes a problem. Since the Product Liability Act defines manufactured or processed movable property as a product, all secondary foods are recognized as products without needing to distinguish whether they are newly manufactured or only processed. Therefore, the Product Liability Act can be applied to the manufacturer of the secondary food. In order to apply the Product Liability Act to a secondary food manufacturer, the defect must exist in the secondary food, and the defect can be divided into manufacturing defect, design defect, and labeling defect according to the Product Liability Act. Third, when it is recognized that damage has occurred to the victim because a official belonging to a state or local government, who has the duty and authority to regulate the production and distribution of hazardous food, does not fulfill or does not exercise the duty or authority, the liability of the state or local government becomes a problem. If a official fails to fulfill its statutory obligations, the state liability for compensation is naturally recognized. Even in the case of damage to the victim due to failure to exercise the legal authority of a official, the overall attitude of the current theory and judicial precedent acknowledges the establishment of the state liability for compensation under certain conditions.