'Intent Determination' Police Form Joint Investigation Team for Gyeongju School Zone Traffic Accident

The so-called 'Gyeongju School Zone Accident' video. The footage shows an SUV vehicle hitting a child riding a bicycle in a school zone near an elementary school in Gyeongbuk Gyeongju. The person inside the red circle is the injured child. Photo by the injured child's sister, captured from SNS.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] On the 27th, the police formed a joint investigation team to investigate the traffic accident in the Gyeongju children's protection zone (school zone), which has sparked controversy over intentionality.

The Gyeongju Police Station formed a joint investigation team consisting of the Traffic Crime Investigation Team and the Criminal Investigation Team on the same day. The police plan to focus their investigation on suspicions that the accident was not a simple traffic accident but an intentional one.

According to the police, the incident occurred around 1:38 PM on the 25th in the school zone near Dongcheon Elementary School in Dongcheon-dong, Gyeongju.

A female SUV driver rear-ended A, a second-grade elementary school student riding a bicycle. The child victim sustained injuries to the right leg and is receiving treatment at a hospital.

A video capturing the accident scene posted on the 26th by a netizen claiming to be the older sister of the victim child on her SNS. Photo by the victim child's older sister (Instagram capture)

The controversy began when a video showing an SUV vehicle appearing behind a child riding a bicycle and colliding with them was posted on SNS and other online communities.

A netizen claiming to be the boy's older sister posted on her Instagram on the 26th, stating, "My younger brother had a fight with the driver's child (5 years old), and the driver chased after him and intentionally caused the accident."

The post also included CCTV footage capturing the scene of the accident.

The police conducted a first investigation of the driver on the 25th, the day the accident occurred. Since the accident happened in a school zone, it is difficult for the driver to avoid charges under the 'Min-sik Law,' which is the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Crimes in School Zones. If intentionality is confirmed, the police plan to apply criminal law and other statutes to formally charge the driver.