Does a new law always punish drivers in case of a road accident, even when a pedestrian is at fault for being hit by a car? No, that's not true: the law already exists and does not always hold drivers responsible in case of an accident when a pedestrian is involved.
The claim appeared as a video (archived here) published on TikTok by @usedcarkeeper on May 1, 2023, with the title "정신나간 민식이법놀이.. #추천 #fyp." (It translates to "Insane 'play, Minsik's Act' #foryourpage #fyp", with reference to kids playing with cars in a school zone, and to the "Min-sik Act," as the Korean Road Traffic Act 2020 Amendment is commonly called).
It opened:
From now on, even if a pedestrian deliberately ran into a car, the driver will be punished.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu May 4 01:20:09 2023 UTC)
The Road Traffic Act, which the TikTok video refers to, is not new. The same video now recirculating on TikTok was originally posted on July 17, 2022, when the current regulations were already established. It was reposted on TikTok without any time reference. Since there is no indication that this video is from 2022, TikTokers are wrongfully induced to believe that there is a "new Act coming this July." This is not true.
The original video also conveys misinformation. It claims that on "mixed traffic" streets - where a center line and sidewalks are not clearly marked - in school zones, pedestrians are never liable even if they are at fault for being hit by a car, and only drivers will be punished. In the video the following image is shown:
(Source: Press release from the General Insurance Association of Korea, published on July 06, 2022)
The image illustrates the official liability criteria according to the General Insurance Association of Korea. The claim itself is partially true; following these criteria, when a pedestrian deliberately provokes an accident, he or she gets +15% liability, but if the accident occurs in school zones, the pedestrian's liability is reduced by 15%, which means that under such conditions, pedestrians are seldom liable in case of a traffic accident. It does not mean, though, that drivers are always 100% liable. Pedestrians are still partially liable if the accident occurs at night time or under similar conditions (+5%), or, for example, if they zig-zag (+5%).
Moreover, these criteria have been defined to process a claim filed with a car insurance company, and would not be valid in court. Here are the standard regulations on how to determine who is at fault in case of a road accident, as defined by the General Insurance Association of Korea. The Road Traffic Act - which was partially revised in April 2023, even though the section referenced in the TikTok video has not changed - and the Act on Special Cases Concerning The Settlement of Traffic Accidents have different criteria to regulate traffic accidents' liabilities.
