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대법원 92다7269

Damages Claim (Traffic Accident) (손해배상(자))손해배상(자)

Decided1992. 07. 28. Court대법원Partially reversed and remanded (일부 파기환송) — the case was sent back to the lower court for recalculation consistent with the Supreme Court's guidance on lost income and pension loss calculation.
AI-generated English translation (summary, key points, decision summary and full text) for reference only — not an official translation and without legal effect. The Korean original below is authoritative.
AI Easy read — AI summary of this decision
AI-generated summary for reference only — the Korean original below is authoritative.

A former civil servant working as a court bailiff (집달관) died in a traffic accident. The Korean Supreme Court held that for workers in fixed-term or tenure-limited positions, lost future income (일실수익) must be calculated based on a profession the deceased could realistically have transitioned into—here, a certified judicial scrivener (법무사)—taking into account the deceased's career and expertise. The Court also ruled that when calculating losses related to retirement pension, the survivor's pension deduction must be based on 70% of the retirement pension amount calculated before deducting living expenses.

Key takeaways
  • CaseA court bailiff (집달관) with a background as a civil servant died in a traffic accident, prompting a lawsuit over lost income and pension damages.
  • OutcomeThe Supreme Court ruled that lost income should be based on a realistic future profession (like a certified judicial scrivener) rather than just the current job, and that survivor's pension deductions must use the pre-living-expense pension amount.
  • LessonWhen calculating damages for workers with fixed-term or age-limited jobs, courts and practitioners must account for realistic career transitions and use consistent, pre-deduction figures for pension-related loss calculations.
Issues
  • How to calculate lost future income (일실수익) for workers in fixed-term or tenure-limited positions
  • How to calculate the survivor's pension deduction when assessing retirement pension losses
  • Whether transitioning from a court bailiff (집달관) to a certified judicial scrivener (법무사) was a legitimate basis for estimating future earning capacity
Key reasoning

The Court reasoned that for workers whose current job has a fixed term or age limit, lost future income cannot simply be based on their current position's income until retirement age. Instead, courts must consider the worker's age, education, and career history to determine what profession they could realistically have pursued after leaving their current role, and calculate lost income on that basis. In this case, the deceased's experience as a court bailiff made a future career as a certified judicial scrivener (법무사) a reasonable and foreseeable path. Additionally, regarding pension-related damages, the Court clarified that the survivor's pension (유족연금) deduction should be calculated as 70% of the retirement pension amount before the deduction of living expenses, not after, in order to accurately reflect actual economic loss.

Summary of Decision (English, AI translation)

[1] Where a victim who died in an accident was engaged in an occupation with a fixed term of office, it cannot be presumed that the deceased would uniformly have engaged only in daily manual labor after the expiration of that term; rather, the occupation and income that the deceased would likely have pursued after the expiration of the term should be investigated and examined in light of the deceased's age, level of education, the nature of the previous occupation, career experience, the possibility and probability of transferring to a similar or other occupation, other social and economic conditions, and rules of experience, and this should serve as the basis for calculating lost earnings.

[2] A case holding that it was acceptable for the court below to determine that the deceased, who was slightly over 54 years of age at the time of the accident, had served for 27 years and 6 months as an investigation officer, prosecutorial secretary, etc., had resigned upon request from the position of prosecutorial secretary, and had thereafter served as a court bailiff (집달관) until the time of the accident, could, after completing his term as a court bailiff, have obtained qualification as a judicial scrivener (법무사) and engaged in practice as a judicial scrivener, in light of the provisions concerning the qualifications for judicial scriveners set forth in Article 4, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Judicial Scriveners Act (법무사법).

[3] A case holding that it was acceptable for the court below to determine, in light of the age distribution of practicing judicial scriveners belonging to the local judicial scriveners association to which the deceased was expected to belong in the future, the nature and content of the work of a judicial scrivener, and the deceased's age and life expectancy, that the working age limit for a judicial scrivener should be set at 70 years of age.

[4] Where a person who was receiving a retirement pension under the Public Officials Pension Act (공무원연금법) dies as a result of another person's tortious act, if the bereaved family inherits the right to claim damages arising from the deceased's loss of the retirement pension and at the same time receives a survivor's pension, the bereaved family thereby obtains a double benefit for the same purpose; therefore, in calculating the amount of damages to be paid to the heirs, the amount of the survivor's pension must be deducted from the deceased's lost retirement pension amount. In such a case, the amount of the survivor's pension to be deducted must be the amount equivalent to 70/100 of the retirement pension amount as provided under the above Public Officials Pension Act, and even where living expenses must be deducted from the retirement pension, it is not permissible to treat 70/100 of the retirement pension amount after deduction of living expenses as the survivor's pension amount to be deducted.

Full text (English, AI translation) 7,640 chars

[Plaintiffs, Appellees] Plaintiff 1 and 4 others
[Defendant, Appellant] Shinan Cargo Co., Ltd., Litigation Representative Hanmi Joint Law Office, Attorneys Yoo Kyung-hee and 3 others
[Court Below] Seoul High Court Decision 91Na46078 rendered on December 26, 1991

[Order]

The part of the judgment below concerning lost income damages, in which the Defendant lost, is reversed, and this part of the case is remanded to the Seoul High Court.
The remainder of the Defendant's appeal is dismissed, and the costs of the appeal relating to this dismissed portion shall be borne by the Defendant.

[Reasoning]

We examine the grounds of appeal submitted by the Defendant's litigation representative.

1. Regarding lost income damages as a court bailiff (執達官) and judicial scrivener (法務士)

Where a victim who died in an accident was serving in an occupation with a fixed term of office, it cannot be uniformly presumed that the deceased would have engaged only in day labor after the expiration of that term. Rather, the occupation and income the deceased would likely have engaged in after the expiration of the term must be examined and determined based on the deceased's age, level of education, the nature of the previous occupation, occupational career, the possibility and probability of transferring to a similar or other occupation, other social and economic conditions, and rules of experience, and this must serve as the basis for calculating lost income.

According to the reasoning of the judgment below, the court below, citing the reasoning of the first instance judgment, found the fact that the deceased Nonparty was 54 years and some months old at the time of this accident, that he had worked for 27 years and 6 months as an investigation section chief (捜査事務官), prosecutorial secretary (檢察書記官), etc., and after voluntarily resigning as a prosecutorial secretary, had worked as a court bailiff until the time of this accident. The court below then determined that the deceased would, after completing his term as a court bailiff, have been able to acquire the qualification of a judicial scrivener and work as a judicial scrivener. In light of the above facts lawfully established by the court below and the provisions of Article 4, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Judicial Scriveners Act (法務士法), which prescribe the qualifications for judicial scriveners, the above determination of the court below is acceptable, and there is no illegality therein as argued in the grounds of appeal.

Furthermore, the court below determined that the working life expectancy of a judicial scrivener extends until the age of 70, in light of the age distribution of practicing judicial scriveners belonging to the Seoul Bar Association of Judicial Scriveners (서울지방법무사회) as of around November 1990 (which the deceased was expected to join after completing his term as a court bailiff), and the nature and content of the work of judicial scriveners. Considering the circumstances stated by the court below together with the deceased's age and life expectancy as lawfully found by the court below, the above determination of the court below is acceptable, and there is no violation of the rules of evidence, insufficient deliberation, or misapprehension of legal principles as argued in the grounds of appeal.

This ground of appeal is without merit in its entirety.

2. Regarding lost retirement pension damages

According to the reasoning of the judgment below, the court below, citing the reasoning of the first instance judgment, found the fact that the deceased, after retiring as a prosecutorial official, had been receiving a monthly pension of KRW 883,984 pursuant to the Public Officials Pension Act (公務員年金法), and the fact (undisputed) that one-third of the deceased's total income, including the retirement pension, would have been spent on living expenses. The court below determined that, pursuant to Articles 56 and 57 of the Public Officials Pension Act, where a person receiving a retirement pension dies, the bereaved family receives a survivor's pension equivalent to 70/100 of the retirement pension; therefore, the deceased suffered damages, from the time of the accident until the expiration of his life expectancy, equivalent to 30/100 of the amount remaining after deducting living expenses from the retirement pension, namely KRW 28,384,266 (883,984 × 2/3 × 30/100 × 160.5474), and accordingly accepted the claim of the Plaintiffs, who inherited the deceased's claim for damages for such lost income.

However, where a person receiving a retirement pension under the Public Officials Pension Act dies due to another person's tortious act, and the bereaved family inherits the claim for damages arising from the deceased's loss of the retirement pension while simultaneously receiving a survivor's pension, the bereaved family thereby obtains a double benefit for the same purpose. Therefore, in calculating the amount of damages payable to the heirs, the amount of the survivor's pension must be deducted from the deceased's lost retirement pension amount. In this case, the survivor's pension amount to be deducted must be the amount equivalent to 70/100 of the retirement pension amount as provided under the Public Officials Pension Act, and even where living expenses must be deducted from the retirement pension, it is not permissible to regard 70/100 of the retirement pension amount after deduction of living expenses as the survivor's pension amount to be deducted.

According to the facts established by the court below, the deceased suffered lost income damages of KRW 598,322 per month (retirement pension amount of KRW 883,984 × 1/3), being the amount after deducting living expenses from the retirement pension amount, as a result of losing the retirement pension due to this accident. Meanwhile, the Plaintiffs are to receive a survivor's pension of KRW 618,788 per month, equivalent to 70/100 of the retirement pension that the deceased had been receiving. Since it is clear from these calculations that the amount of survivor's pension the Plaintiffs are to receive exceeds the amount of lost retirement pension damages that they inherited, the Plaintiffs' claim regarding the lost retirement pension damages is without merit. Nevertheless, the court below, contrary to this, calculated the lost damages amount by regarding 70/100 of the amount after deducting living expenses from the retirement pension amount as the survivor's pension that the Plaintiffs would receive, and deducting this from the retirement pension. This constitutes a misapprehension of the legal principles concerning the Public Officials Pension Act and the calculation of damages, or an inconsistency in reasoning, and the ground of appeal pointing this out is with merit.

3. Upon examination of the contents of the petition of appeal and the statement of grounds of appeal in the record, the Defendant has not presented any grounds of appeal regarding the portion of the judgment below in which the Defendant lost concerning the funeral expenses, which are active damages, and the portion concerning consolation money. Therefore, the appeal as to these portions cannot avoid dismissal.

4. Accordingly, the portion of the judgment below concerning lost income damages, in which the Defendant lost, is reversed and remanded, the remainder of the Defendant's appeal is dismissed, and the costs of the appeal relating to this dismissed portion shall be borne by the losing party. It is so decided by the unanimous opinion of the Justices participating, as stated in the Order.

Justice Bae Man-un (Presiding Justice), Lee Hoi-chang, Kim Seok-su

【판결요지】

가. 사고로 사망한 피해자가 임기가 정하여진 직업에 종사하고 있었던 경우에 망인이 임기만료 후 일률적으로 일용노동에만 종사할 것으로 추정할 수는 없는 것이고, 망인의 연령, 교육정도, 종전 직업의 성질, 직업경력, 유사직종이나 다른 직종에의 전업 가능성과 확률, 그 밖의 사회적, 경제적 조건과 경험칙에 비추어 임기만료 후 장차 종사가능하다고 보여지는 직업과 소득을 조사심리하여 이를 일실수익 산정의 기초로 삼아야 할 것이다.

나. 사고 당시 만 54세 남짓이었고 27년 6개월 동안 수사사무관, 검찰서기관 등으로 근무하다가 검찰서기관으로 의원면직된 후 사고 당시까지 집달관으로 근무하여 온 망인이, 집달관으로서의 임기를 마친 후 법무사 자격을 취득하여 법무사로 종사할 수 있을 것이라고 한 원심의 판단을, 법무사의 자격을 규정한 법무사법 제4조 제1항 제1호의 규정 등에 비추어 수긍한 사례.

다. 망인이 장래 소속될 것으로 예상되는 지방법무사회의 개업법무사의 연령별 분포, 법무사의 업무와 성질 및 그 내용, 망인의 연령과 기대여명 등에 비추어 법무사의 가동연한을 만 70세가 될 때까지라고 본 원심의 조치를 수긍한 사례.

라. 공무원연금법상의 퇴직연금을 받던 사람이 타인의 불법행위로 인하여 사망한 경우에 그 유족이, 망인이 퇴직연금을 받지 못하게 됨으로써 얻은 손해배상청구권을 상속함과 동시에 유족연금을 지급받게 되었다면, 그 유족은 동일목적의 급부를 이중으로 취득하게 되는 것이므로 그 상속인에게 지급할 손해배상액을 산정함에 있어서는 위 망인의 일실퇴직연금액에서 유족연금액을 공제하여야 할 것인바, 이 경우에 공제하여야 할 유족연금액은 위 공무원연금법의 규정에 의하여 퇴직연금액의 100분의 70 상당액이어야 하고, 퇴직연금에서 생계비를 공제하여야 할 경우라고 하여도 그 생계비를 공제한 퇴직연금액의 100분의 70 상당액을 유족연금액으로 보아 공제할 것이 아니다.

【참조조문】

가.나.다.라. 민법 제763조(제393조) / 나. 법무사법 제4조 제1항 제1호 / 라. 공무원연금법 제56조, 제57조

【참조판례】

가. 대법원 1987. 2. 10. 선고 86다카1453 판결(공1987,419), 1991. 5. 14. 선고 91다124 판결(공1991,1623) / 다. 대법원 1987. 6. 23. 선고 86다카2863 판결(공1987,1227) / 라. 대법원 1989. 7. 25. 선고 88다카21425 판결(공1989,1290)

【주문】·【이유】 전문 2,654자 · 펼쳐 보기

【원고, 피상고인】 원고 1 외 4인

【피고, 상고인】 신안화물 주식회사 소송대리인 법무법인 한미합동법률사무소 담당변호사 유경희 외 3인

【원심판결】 서울고법 1991. 12. 26. 선고 91나46078 판결

【주 문】

원심판결 중 일실수익손해에 관한 피고 패소부분을 파기하고 이 부분 사건을 서울고등법원에 환송한다.

피고의 나머지 상고를 기각하고 이 상고기각부분에 관한 상고비용은 피고의 부담으로 한다.

【이 유】 피고 소송대리인의 상고이유를 본다.

1. 집달관 및 법무사로서의 일실수익손해에 관하여

사고로 사망한 피해자가 임기가 정하여진 직업에 종사하고 있었던 경우에 망인이 임기만료 후 일률적으로 일용노동에만 종사할 것으로 추정할 수는 없는 것이고, 망인의 연령, 교육정도, 종전 직업의 성질, 직업경력, 유사직종이나 다른 직종에의 전업 가능성과 확률, 그 밖의 사회적, 경제적 조건과 경험칙에 비추어 임기만료 후 장차 종사가능하다고 보여지는 직업과 소득을 조사심리하여 이를 일실수익산정의 기초로 삼아야 할 것이다.

원심판결 이유에 의하면 원심은 제1심 판결의 이유설시를 인용하여 망 소외인이 이 사건 사고 당시 만 54세 남짓이었고 27년 6개월 동안 수사사무관, 검찰서기관 등으로 근무하다가 검찰서기관으로 의원면직된 후 이 사건 사고 당시까지 집달관으로 근무하여 온 사실을 인정한 다음 위 망인이 집달관으로서의 임기를 마친 후 법무사 자격을 취득하여 법무사로 종사할 수 있을 것이라고 판단하였는바, 원심이 적법하게 확정한 위와 같은 사실관계와 법무사의 자격을 규정한 법무사법 제4조 제1항 제1호의 규정 등에 비추어 보면 원심의 위와 같은 판단에 수긍이 가고 거기에 소론과 같은 위법이 없다.

또 원심은 위 망인이 집달관의 임기를 마치고 소속될 것으로 예상되는 서울지방법무사회의 1990.11.경의 개업법무사의 연령별 분포, 법무사의 업무와 성질 및 그 내용 등에 비추어 법무사의 가동연한을 만 70세가 될 때까지라고 판단하였는바, 원심이 설시한 위와 같은 사정에다가 원심이 적법하게 인정한 위 망인의 연령과 기대여명 등을 고려하면 원심의 위와 같은 판단에 수긍이 가고 거기에 소론과 같은 채증법칙 위반이나 심리미진 또는 법리오해의 위법이 없다.

논지는 모두 이유 없다.

2. 일실퇴직연금손해에 관하여

원심판결 이유에 의하면 원심은 제1심 판결의 이유설시를 인용하여 위 망인은 검찰공무원을 퇴직한 후 공무원연금법에 따라 매월 금 883,984원의 연금을 지급받아 온 사실, 위 망인의 생계비는 퇴직연금을 포함한 총수입의 3분의 1이 소요되리라는 사실(다툼 없는 사실)을 확정하고, 공무원연금법 제56조, 제57조에 의하면 퇴직연금을 받고 있던 자가 사망한 경우에 그 유족은 퇴직연금의 100분의 70 상당을 유족연금으로 지급받게 되므로 위 망인은 이 사건 사고로 인하여 사고시부터 여명기한까지 퇴직연금 중 생계비를 공제한 금액의 100분의 30 상당액인 28,384,266원(883,984×2/3×30/100×160.5474)의 손해를 입은 것으로 판단하여 위 망인의 위 일실이익손해배상청구권을 상속한 원고들의 청구를 받아들이고 있다.

그러나 공무원연금법상의 퇴직연금을 받던 사람이 타인의 불법행위로 인하여 사망한 경우에 그 유족이 망인이 퇴직연금을 받지 못하게 됨으로써 얻은 손해배상청구권을 상속함과 동시에 유족연금을 지급받게 되었다면, 그 유족은 동일목적의 급부를 이중으로 취득하게 되는 것이므로 그 상속인에게 지급할 손해배상액을 산정함에 있어서는 위 망인의 일실퇴직연금액에서 유족연금액을 공제하여야 할 것인바, 이 경우에 공제하여야 할 유족연금액은 위 공무원연금법의 규정에 의하여 퇴직연금액의 100분의 70 상당액이어야 하고, 퇴직연금에서 생계비를 공제하여야 할 경우라고 하여도 그 생계비를 공제한 퇴직연금액의 100분의 70 상당액을 유족연금액으로 보아 공제할 것이 아니다.

원심이 확정한 위 사실관계에 의하면 위 망인은 이 사건 사고로 퇴직연금을 받지 못하게 됨으로써 매월 퇴직연금액에서 생계비를 공제한 금 598,322원(퇴직연금액 금 883,984원×1/3)상당의 일실수익손해를 입었고 한편 원고들은 매월 위 망인이 받던 퇴직연금의 100분의 70 상당인 금 618,788원 상당을 유족연금으로 지급받게 되었다는 것이므로, 원고들이 상속한 위 일실퇴직연금손해액보다 그들이 지급받게 될 유족연금액이 더 많음이 계산상 명백하여 원고들의 위 일실퇴직연금손해에 관한 청구는 이유가 없음에도 불구하고, 원심이 이와 달리 퇴직연금액에서 생계비를 공제한 금액의 100분의 70 상당액을 원고들이 지급받게 될 유족연금으로 보아 이를 퇴직연금에서 공제함으로써 그 일실손해액을 산정한 것은 공무원연금법 및 손해배상액산정에 관한 법리를 오해하였거나 이유모순의 위법을 저지른 것이므로 이 점을 지적하는 논지는 이유 있다.

3. 기록에 의하여 상고장 및 상고이유서 기재내용을 살펴보아도 피고는 원심판결의 피고 패소부분 중 적극적 손해인 장례비에 관한 부분과 위자료부분에 관하여 아무런 상고이유를 개진하고 있지 않으므로 이 부분 상고는 기각을 면할 수 없다.

4. 그러므로 원심판결 중 일실수익손해에 관한 피고 패소부분을 파기환송하고 피고의 나머지 상고를 기각하며 이 상고기각부분에 관한 상고비용은 패소자의 부담으로 하여 관여 법관의 일치된 의견으로 주문과 같이 판결한다.

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