제조물책임법의 개정방향에 대한 소고

Abstract

Due to the recent occurrence of sudden acceleration accidents in automobiles, there have been constant calls for revision of the Product Liability Act, and accordingly, members of the National Assembly are competing to announce amendment proposals for the Product Liability Act. It seems likely that this product liability law will be deeply discussed in terms of its application to self-driving cars that will be released soon, as well as robots equipped with various types of artificial intelligence systems, such as artificial intelligence mobility. The Product Liability Act has been developed through much discussion in many countries, including the United States and the EU, for a long time. However, the current Product Liability Act in Korea has not yet been properly revised. Therefore, based on the common contents and differences of the recently proposed Product Liability Act, let's look at the elements that must be considered in the future revision. First, to what extent will the scope of the product liability under the Product Liability Act be stipulated? This part is a question of whether the Product Liability Act can be applied uniformly to various types of robots equipped with artificial intelligence systems. Second, the burden of proof. This is actually the part that is being discussed the most in the recently proposed revision of the Product Liability Act. However, in terms of the burden of proof in civil relations, it is fundamentally important to observe the basic principles of civil law. If exceptions to these basic principles are easily recognized, there is a concern that further confusion may arise in many areas in the future. Third, there is the issue of mandating the submission of documents for the relief of victims. This issue is considered to be a very important factor in terms of strengthening the legal protection of victims who have suffered damage due to existing products. However, enforcement of the law must also consider its adverse effects. In other words, if the company's core trade secrets are easily exposed due to the order to submit materials, this can be a very serious problem. Therefore, even when ordering the submission of materials, it will be necessary to set clear standards for the disclosure of materials so that the truth of the case can be determined within the scope that does not infringe upon the company's important trade secrets. As such, in this paper, we will examine this proposal in detail and discuss the background of the enactment of the Product Liability Act and the desirable direction for future revision of the Product Liability Act.