Senior judge dies after being hit by car

By Jhoo Dong-chan

The late Park

Park Sam-bong, head of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, died Thursday after being hit by a car, police said. He was 58.

Park was on his way home after morning hiking when a Teracan ran over him at a crossroads near Suseo Station in southern Seoul around 6:30 a.m. It is immediately unclear whether he was crossing at green lights.

Park was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, but died while receiving an operation, police said.

Park, born in Busan, started his career after passing a state bar exam in 1978 while attending Seoul National University.

He served as the head of Daejeon High Court before being appointed to head the training institute last year.