Gangneung Suspicious Suspicious Acceleration Accident ‘RPM Drop’ Appraisal Was Different from National Forensic Service Analysis

(Chuncheon = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Young-seo = Regarding the suspected sudden acceleration of a vehicle accident that killed Lee Do-hyeon (12 years old at the time of death) in Gangneung, Gangwon-do in December 2022, a reproduction analysis result was released that contradicts the analysis of the National Forensic Service (National Forensic Service), which was the main basis for the first trial ruling.

Contrary to the National Forensic Service's analysis that the driver was deeply pressing the accelerator pedal at the time of the accident, a driving test conducted again on the actual accident road last September did not show a 'plunge in engine revolutions per minute (RPM)' when the accelerator pedal was pressed all the way down.

On the other hand, when the accelerator pedal was taken off, the RPM fell by about 2,300 from about 6,400 to 4,100, showing results similar to the RPM drop analyzed by the National Forensic Service at the time of the accident.

According to Do-hyeon's family on the 9th, the appraiser selected by the court submitted an appraisal report containing the results of a reproduction appraisal of the actual car conducted on the accident road in Gangneung City on September 18 to the appellate court on the 2nd.

According to the evaluation results, a total of 10 tests were conducted using the Tivoli Air, the same model as the accident vehicle, driving at about 40 km/h and changing the shift lever from neutral (N) to drive (D).

The emotions were divided into ▲ keeping the accelerator pedal depressed as much as possible when shifting from neutral (N) to drive (D) ▲ taking one's foot off the accelerator pedal at the same time as shifting ▲ pressing the brake pedal at the same time as shifting.

In addition, the manufacturer KG Mobility (KGM, formerly Ssangyong Motor) requested an additional request, which was carried out with a total of four conditions, including ‘maintaining the accelerator pedal depressed approximately 70% of the time’.

In a test where the gear was shifted while the accelerator pedal was fully depressed, the RPM only dropped below 100 for one second.

In a test in which the brake pedal was immediately pressed, the RPM dropped by approximately 2,900 to 3,150, but the vehicle speed also decreased rapidly from 29 km/h to 12 km/h, showing a difference from the situation at the time of the accident.

The condition for maintaining the accelerator pedal at 70%, which KGM additionally requested, also fell by about 3,770 to 4,058, a much larger drop than at the time of the accident.

On the other hand, in two tests in which the accelerator pedal was taken off, the speed dropped to approximately 2,300 to 2,700, and the vehicle speed was maintained at 37 km/h, similar to the RPM change pattern at the time of the accident.

Do-hyeon's family argued, "The shift lever D → N → D hypothesis, which was the starting point for the first trial's assumption of pedal malfunction, was denied by the results of a court evaluator at the accident scene, which was not verified by the National Forensic Service. At the time of the accident, the driver was not pressing the accelerator pedal, and the automatic emergency braking assist system (AEB), which had operating conditions, did not operate."

At the same time, he emphasized, "The appraiser evaluated that only when the accelerator pedal was taken off was consistent with the RPM drop phenomenon shown in the National Forensic Service's appraisal report," and "The first trial's factual finding that the driver was deeply pressing the accelerator pedal at the time of the collision lost basis."

Meanwhile, on this day, at the closed-door argument preparation date held at the Civil Division 2 of the Chuncheon Chamber of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Shim Young-jin), a battle took place over the order to submit documents for the electronic control unit (ECU) specifications.

Do-hyeon's family requested that they be allowed to view the table of contents of the ECU specifications that KGM submitted to the court, saying that it does not constitute a trade secret because it only lists general items.

On the other hand, KGM showed difficulty in disclosing the table of contents due to its obligation to maintain confidentiality under its contract with Continental, the ECU manufacturer.

Accordingly, the court decided to order the plaintiffs to file an application for a document submission order for the table of contents of the ECU specifications and to submit an application specifying the specific scope of the specifications requested to be submitted, and to review and make a decision.

Separately, the court decided to pursue video analysis to check whether the brake lights were turned on at the time of the collision in the Tivoli crash test video from Euro NCAP, a European new car safety evaluation program.