'7 Accidents at the Same Spot in 4 Years': Man in His 60s Suspected of Insurance Fraud Acquitted... Court Says "Clearly the Other Vehicle's Fault, an Ordinary Accident"

A driver in his 60s who caused seven traffic accidents at the same location over four years was put on trial on insurance fraud charges, but the court, viewing the accidents as caused by the other vehicles' fault, acquitted him.

According to the legal community on the 8th, the Mokpo Branch of the Gwangju District Court acquitted Mr. A, in his 60s, who had been indicted on charges of violating the Insurance Fraud Prevention Act, on the 11th of last month.

Mr. A was indicted on charges of intentionally causing seven traffic accidents at an intersection in Mokpo over four years starting in 2021, receiving about 60 million won in insurance money.

The prosecution viewed that he caused intentional accidents and received insurance money by deliberately ramming vehicles that changed lanes abnormally or violated traffic laws when he spotted them.

However, Mr. A denied all the charges. He argued that the accidents merely occurred due to unskilled driving on his commute and that there was no intent. In particular, he protested that in some accidents his family was riding with him, and there was absolutely no reason to injure his family for insurance money.

The court acquitted Mr. A. Although it was true that similar traffic accidents repeatedly occurred at the same location and the scale of insurance money he received was considerable, the court viewed them as ordinary accidents arising from traffic law violations—such as the other vehicle waiting for a signal in lane 1, which was for left turns only, going straight and colliding with Mr. A's vehicle that was turning left from lane 2. Also, the fact that although Mr. A commuted the same route every day, the accident frequency was low at once or twice a year served as grounds for the acquittal.

Choi Dae-il, attorney of Daeryun LLC representing Mr. A, explained, "For insurance fraud to be recognized, it must be clear that it was a decidedly intentional accident rather than negligence due to unskilled driving," and "Based on objective circumstances such as the fact that the road was his daily commute and that his family was riding with him, we actively proved to the court that there was no intent to commit the crime, thereby drawing out an acquittal."

Reporter Jeong Cheol-wook

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'7 Accidents at the Same Spot in 4 Years': Man in His 60s Suspected of Insurance Fraud Acquitted... Court Says "Clearly the Other Vehicle's Fault, an Ordinary Accident" (Go to link)