자율주행자동차 운행 중의 사고발생과 손해배상책임

The Autonomous Vehicles, also known as driverless cars, have recently emerged as an important issue of the public debate over the vehicle business market. In spite of the high public interest, legal issues, such as liability, and consequently damages, by the autonomous vehicles are broadly hailed. To date, there has been minimal research in the Korean law field regrading autonomous transportation technology. In respect of that the autonomous vehicle would cause vigorous debates for new liability framework for injuries totally against the existing liability framework, this study establishes the contours of argument for the new liability framework associated with the new technology. To begin with, this paper would like to examine whether court to decide grants liability for any accident on autonomous car to the car’s owner or operator under traditional tort law principles. However, this article addresses that, under the current liability frame, the injured party would be difficult to directly bear some responsibility of a negligence for accident to the owner or operator because the responsibility under the frame may ultimately turn on degree of control of the driver over the car. Next, this paper decides whether the party can raise product liability lawsuit to car manufacturers, software designers, and component makers based on the existing product liability principles. Finally, this paper proposes congress an alternative liability framework over the next ten years or so years as society transitions to widely popularize the autonomous vehicle.