A man in his 30s who received 14 million won in insurance money after 20 traffic accidents... Court 'not guilty'

A man in his 30s who was put on trial on charges of causing about 20 traffic accidents over 10 years and stealing 14 million won in insurance money was found not guilty.

Jeonju District Court Criminal Division 5 found Mr. A (34), who was indicted on charges of violating the Special Act on Insurance Fraud, not guilty on the 19th of last month. Mr. A is accused of intentionally hitting Mr. B's vehicle, which violated a red light, at an intersection in downtown Jeonju around February 2023, causing an accident, and pocketing millions of won in insurance money from the insurance company.

As a result of the investigation, it was confirmed that Mr. A was involved in a total of 27 traffic accidents over 10 years, and that the insurance money received by Mr. A was over 14 million won.

Mr. A denied the charges and pleaded not guilty. Mr. A's side emphasized, "The accident only occurred due to the other vehicle violating the Road Traffic Act," and "There were almost no accidents other than this incident that were caused by Mr. A's negligence."

The court also accepted Mr. A’s claim and declared him not guilty. The court ruled that “Mr. A cannot be considered to have the intention of defrauding insurance money simply because the frequency of accidents is somewhat higher than that of ordinary car insurance subscribers.”

Attorney Wonjin Cho of Daeryun Law Firm, Mr. A's legal representative, explained, "Mr. A's accident was a common accident in everyday life, and the other vehicle's negligence ratio was much greater. The frequency of accidents was high due to his driving habits of not driving defensively or giving way. He may have been negligent in failing to fulfill his duty of care as a driver, but he did not cause the accident to collect insurance money." He added, “We were able to safely be found not guilty by emphasizing that there was no intention to defraud insurance money.”

Reporter Hwang Jeong-won (jwhwang@mt.co.kr)

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30-year-old who received 14 million won in insurance money after 20 traffic accidents... Court 'not guilty' (Shortcut)