A man in his 40s arrested for deliberately causing accidents with luxury imported cars to fraudulently claim insurance worth billions

Mr. A deliberately causes motorcycle accidents. / Provided by Yongsan Police Station

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A man in his 40s who deliberately caused accidents by targeting luxury foreign cars while riding a motorcycle and embezzled insurance money worth hundreds of millions of won was arrested by the police.

On the 4th, the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul announced that they had arrested and detained Mr. A (42) on charges of insurance fraud and fraud under the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud. According to the police, from July last year to March this year, Mr. A deliberately caused traffic accidents by violating traffic laws on a motorcycle targeting luxury foreign cars, deceiving insurance companies into believing he was an accidental victim, and embezzled about 140 million won in insurance money.

The police began investigating after receiving a petition from an insurance company in February requesting an investigation into whether the traffic accidents caused by Mr. A were intentional. During the investigation, the police confirmed that Mr. A had caused multiple traffic accidents in the metropolitan area and Chungcheong region and received insurance payments for medical expenses and vehicle repairs from insurance companies. After reviewing various circumstances such as video analysis by the National Forensic Service, statements from accident parties, Mr. A’s movements before and after the crimes, and the usage details of the insurance money, the police concluded that the accidents were intentional. The number of suspected intentional accidents initially was 13 but increased to 41 through the investigation.

It was found that Mr. A squandered the embezzled insurance money on online gambling and entertainment expenses. When the insurance company suspected intentional accidents, Mr. A fled to Vietnam but returned to Korea after running out of funds. The police arrested him at his hideout on the 27th of last month. The police are investigating whether there are additional crimes. A police official urged, "If you experience an unexpected traffic accident and the other party’s attitude seems suspicious or they demand excessive settlement money, please seek help from the police."