After couple's fight led to deadly highway accident, boyfriend cleared of charges

A tollgate at a highway entrance in Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. (Newsis)

A Gwangju court acquitted a 30-year-old South Korean man for the death of his girlfriend, who had tried to cross a highway while drunk after their argument, officials said Monday.

Gwangju District Court recently ruled the defendant not guilty of death by negligence charges, regarding the November 2022 death of his girlfriend. The victim and the defendant had gotten into an argument, which included a physical altercation, on the side of the Honam Expressway connecting South Jeolla and South Chungcheong Provinces.

The victim, who had been intoxicated at the time, had reported to the police that she was being kidnapped and tried to flag down a passing cab on the highway. She ultimately climbed over the guard rail and attempted to cross the expressway, but was hit by an SUV and sustained a critical injury.

The prosecution indicted him on the charge of negligence of duty, saying he caused the accident by attempting to control her through not letting her catch a taxi.

But the court acknowledged that the defendant had actively tried to stop the victim from approaching the expressway, pulling her body away from the road. "Outside of actively stopping (the victim's) impulsive and dangerous actions, it cannot be regarded that (the defendant) has the responsibility to move her to a safe location," the court said in its verdict.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)