Prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office argued that an insurance company must provide additional compensation if a victim’s delayed medical expense claim connects to its business operations, rather than overlapping with standard damage payouts.
Case Details
On March 23, during court proceedings, the department handling major residential land crimes stated that Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance—the largest firm involved—had already disbursed compensation to the victim through its construction fund office. Officials demanded the company refund the principal amount originally claimed by one party.
The incident occurred in May 2018 when executive A, driving under the influence from the company’s back seat, collided with another vehicle. The victim sustained severe injuries, including a fractured jaw.
The company compensated the victim with 257.6 million won total, including 84.1 million won for medical costs related to the industrial accident insurance claim against A. Separately, the victim received 71.2 million won in property damage from Hyundai Marine as the at-fault insurer.
Prosecutors’ review found that part of the insurer’s payment to the victim aligned exactly with the company’s medical expense outlays in timing and amount. Afterward, the company sought reimbursement from the insurer but received none from the fund office.
Supreme Court Precedent Cited
The core issue revolves around whether previously paid medical expenses qualify for internal liability compensation from the company. Prosecutors asserted that this must occur under Supreme Court guidelines.
Both the presiding judge and chief judge initially planned a single-person hearing. Notably, the chief judge noted the victim personally covered 15.54 million won in damages and claimed an additional 6.36 million won for reasonable medical costs deemed excessive.
Accounting for a 70% unreasonable rate on the victim’s passage costs—totaling 108.8 million won and 44.5 million won extra—the insurer intends to refund 82.1 million won of the 71.2 million won paid medical claim. This could exceed 100 million won in added compensation, with prosecutors confirming the full amount’s refund intent.
Prosecutors’ Stance on Fairness
Despite this, prosecutors viewed the chief judge’s fair ruling basis as insufficient and pressed for a refund. They emphasized: “If the treatment fee matches the company’s operational expenses and delay interest exactly, it lacks ties to damage compensation. Thus, the company must issue liability compensation publicly—a stronger rationale.”
Officials questioned whether the paid treatment mirrored company costs uniformly. A related party explained: “Claims unrelated to operations or damages paid as added compensation violate criminal law, warranting penalties in both criminal and industrial accident spheres.”
“Even without heartfelt reasoning on ties to operations and damages, such forced reimbursements lead to prosecutorial violations,” prosecutors added.
