40s Male Shocked After Traffic Accident and Being Booked on "Special Threat and Special Injury Charges" in Traffic Crime
"They Intimidate by Booking and Conduct Investigations in a Coercive and Authoritative Manner"
A man in his 40s who was involved in a traffic accident is expressing his frustration, claiming that the police are conducting an overbearing investigation as if he had committed a serious crime.
According to a compilation of reports by Asia Economy on the 5th, Mr. A (in his 40s) was involved in an accident around 9:40 p.m. on June 19 on a two-lane road in Gang-gyeong, Nonsan-si, Chungnam Province, when a vehicle behind him crossed the center line to overtake and collided with the front bumper of Mr. A’s car. Mr. A reported the traffic accident to the police and also filed a claim with his insurance company.
However, believing it was a simple traffic accident, Mr. A returned home, only to be shocked the next day when the police informed him that he had been booked as a suspect in a traffic crime under charges of special threats and special injury.
Mr. A said, “On June 20, a police officer called me at around 8:20 a.m. and told me to come to the Nonsan Police Station. The situation had changed from the previous day, and I was being booked as a suspect in a traffic crime, not just a traffic accident.” He added, “The police checked the vehicle’s EDR system and said there was nothing unusual, such as tampering with the steering wheel.”
He also said, “They told me to cancel the insurance claim I had filed because it was now considered a traffic crime, and the officer in charge instructed the insurance company employee who responded to the scene to put the claim on hold.”
Mr. A claimed, “When I asked the officer what I had done wrong, he said he would tell me when I came in for questioning. They acted in a high-handed and coercive manner as if I had committed a serious crime.”
He further stated, “The officer told me I was booked on charges of special threats and special injury, but to the lawyer’s staff, he said that since it was currently registered as a traffic accident, it was still in the preliminary investigation stage and that they planned to investigate under the charges of special threats and special injury. They neither formally booked me nor refrained from intimidating me by saying I was booked, conducting the investigation in a coercive and authoritative manner.”
Mr. A has hired a lawyer and is asserting his innocence regarding the accident.
Regarding this, a lawyer commented, “If Mr. A’s criminal charges were confirmed, the insurance company should be notified, but the police officer’s decision to put the insurance claim on hold in a disputed case seems to be a wrong judgment. Also, saying that someone is booked when they are not can be problematic.”
A police official stated, “If someone is suspected of a traffic crime, insurance processing does not apply, so the officer likely explained that the claim should be canceled. Neither the victim nor the perpetrator has been investigated yet,” and added, “We cannot disclose details about ongoing investigations.”
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