Civil Liability for Damage Resulting from Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA) - A Critical Overview of Product Liability in Korea -

Abstract

Zero. This is the total number of decisions delivered by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea in which civil liability for damage caused by alleged ‘sudden unintended acceleration (SUA)’ of motor vehicles was ever recognized in Korea. Interestingly, the Supreme Court has on various occasions recognized the civil liability of manufacturers for defects in products other than that of motor vehicles, and in 2017 a new provision was introduced into the Product Liability Act, resulting in the recognition of the presumption of a product’s defect, as well as the causal link between such a defect and damage. Despite this, it is still unrealistic for alleged SUA victims to make a successful product liability claim. Evidently, the innate technical complexity of motor vehicles and automotive engineering related to the potential causes of SUA makes any attempt to mitigate the victim’s burden of proof futile. It is critical to understand that damage caused by SUA and damage caused by defect in non-automobile products are far from similar, which in turn makes the natur e of p r oduct liability f or the t wo t ypes o f damage q uite d iffer ent. W ithout an appreciation for this disparity, the prospects for the product liability regime in Korea with regard to SUA is not bright. Fortunately, there are a number of interesting amendment bills that were discussed by the National Assembly last year. Among the many proposals found in these amendment bills, the transfer of the burden of proof (albeit limited to SUA-related cases) and the recognition of the manufacturer’s obligation to produce relevant data to the court (subject to the protection of trade secrets) seem to be the most promising. With regard to the latter, the recent amendment of the Automobile Management Act does not negate the importance and necessity of amending the PLA.