Posted August. 17, 2000 19:44,
The Supreme Court ruled that a manufacturer cannot be held liable for incidents involving its product unless there is evidence of a specific deficiency. The judgment was handed down by division 3 of the Supreme Court in a hearing on the final appeal of a lawsuit filed by Samsung Fire & Marine against Ssangyong Motor. The suit was related to compensation for a case in which Samsung had doled out insurance payments to a person who was injured from a fire in his car. The original judgment in favor of the plaintiff was nullified and the case was returned to the Seoul District Court.
In the ruling made by the panel of judges, it was stated that in order to recognize the liability of the manufacturer, solid evidence that the fire was the result of a flaw in the vehicle or a deviation from designated safety standards was necessary.
However, considering the fact that the insurance holder had realigned the wiring of the car and there was no proof that the fire started inside the vehicle, it was difficult to acknowledge that the fire was the result of a manufacturing defect.
In 1993, a fire suddenly consumed a Mr. Park`s Korando car in a parking lot. As the car was completely destroyed in the fire, Samsung dished out an insurance payment of 15 million won. After paying the insurance, Samsung filed a lawsuit, claiming the possibility that the fire was caused by faulty wiring or another product deficiency was very high.