해양사고 발생 시 선장의 형사적 책임 완화에 관한 입법론적 개선방안 연구

Abstract

In Korean courts, there has been general tendency that people are widely punished in serious accidents: once they act jointly and the results become punishable crime, all the actors are regarded as joint principal offenders. That was highlighted in the cases of Sampoong Apartment and Sungsoo Bridge, both of which were collapsed and shocked many Koreans. On the other hand, many scholars have criticized courts' decisions. A prominent scholar pointed out that the Korean Government invented the joint principal offenders to punish them as scapegoats and to show people that it was doing the right thing. In many marine accidents, shipmasters are treated as joint principal offenders and are criminally punished whether they are at the bridge or not at the time of accidents. The reason for the punishment is assumed that shipmasters have a wide range of responsibilities in ship operations and there are grey areas on the responsibilities of masters and mates, respectively. Further, there are provisions of master's responsibility, in the Seamen Act, that shipmasters can hardly fulfill. Considering the possibility of amending the Criminal Code or overturning the previous decisions is very slim, the author suggests 4 ways of improvement. Firstly, the ambiguous provisions in Seamen Act should be deleted or amended to make it clear. Secondly, the responsibilities of master and officers should be clearly provided in the Maritime Traffic Safety Act. Thirdly, the ordinary practice of seamen should be incorporated in the MTSA. Finally, an Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Marine Accidents should be enacted to protect shipmasters and officers from criminal prosecution.