자율주행자동차 사고에 대한 민사법적 책임과 과제

Autonomous vehicles are expected to have a positive socio-economic impact by substituting the capabilities of human operators with the use of ICT technology. However, in order to introduce and operate safe and efficient autonomous vehicles, various ethical, institutional, and technical issues should be resolved. One of these problems is disputes concerning liability for damages caused by autonomous car accident. As autonomous driving technology becomes gradually commercialized, it is expected that autonomous driving cars applying different levels of technology will be operated for some time. From the first level to the third level, as in the case of a conventional automobile accident, the driver under the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation Act, the driver or the employer regulated by general tort liability or employers’ liability under Article 750 or Article 756 of the Korean Civil Code, or the manufacturer under the Product Liability Act may be responsible for the accident. On the other hand, for cars applying 4 or 5 level of technology, there is a limit to which the current law can not be applied. Accordingly, some changes of current tort liability law are needed in this field. When autonomous driving technology becomes more advanced, it is expected that discussions will concentrate mainly on product liability. However, considering the significant decrease in traffic accidents expected to be positively influenced by autonomous vehicles, it is necessary to discuss the alternative aspects such as the introduction of a new accident compensation system for autonomous vehicle accidents.