"Health Issues and Dissatisfaction with Counsel": Reasons for 'Busan Roundhouse Kick' Defendant's Absence from Trial

The reasons for the repeated absences of the defendant in the so-called 'Busan roundhouse kick' case from his appellate trial, where he faces additional charges of retaliatory threats against the victim, have been revealed.

The Busan High Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Park Woon-sam) disclosed on July 7 the reasons for non-attendance submitted to the court by the defendant, identified as A.

Defendant A failed to appear at the appellate trial held on May 27, and again at the hearing on July 1, leading to the postponement of the proceedings to the next scheduled date.

The court explained that for his first absence, A submitted a statement claiming he could not attend due to health reasons, and for his recent absence, he cited dissatisfaction with his court-appointed defense counsel.

The court determined that the reasons provided by A for his absence do not constitute valid grounds.

Consequently, the court set the next hearing for July 22 and informed A that it intends to proceed with the trial even if he fails to appear again.

Starting this month, the courts have been applying the amended Act on Expedited Legal Proceedings to prevent defendants from delaying trials by refusing to appear.

Under this special act, if a defendant who has appeared at least once in the first trial fails to attend without a valid reason, the court may proceed without their statement; however, this currently applies only to the first instance (district court) level.

A legal expert remarked, "It is regrettable that the law was not amended to also apply to appellate trials, as it would have allowed the appellate court in the roundhouse kick case to respond more effectively."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.