Stray Dogs Attack in Parking Lot at Dawn
Scratch Exterior Walls and Tear Off Vehicle Grills
Lawyer Han Moon-cheol: "No Real Solution"
A car owner’s story about their parked vehicle being damaged by a stray dog attack in the early morning hours has come to light.
On the 7th, a video titled "I woke up in the morning to find my car torn apart and reported it, but the culprit was a stray dog" was posted on the YouTube channel 'Han Moon-cheol TV.' The informant, Mr. A, revealed CCTV footage of his SUV parked in a lot around 3:30 a.m. on the 19th of last month. According to the CCTV, a white stray dog and a black stray dog were wandering around the parking lot when a cat slipped under Mr. A’s car. The dogs tried to catch the cat, but when the cat kept refusing to come out, they scratched and bit the car’s exterior for about 13 minutes. Eventually, the agitated stray dogs even tore off the vehicle’s grille.
When Mr. A woke up and went to the parking lot in the morning, he was shocked to find his car damaged. However, after realizing it was the work of stray dogs and not people, he expressed his frustration. Lawyer Han Moon-cheol also expressed sympathy, saying, "From the car owner’s perspective, it’s absurd, but there is no effective way to deal with this."
In 2019, similar vehicle damage caused by animal attacks occurred. At that time, hungry wild boars descended into urban areas due to food shortages, and in some cases, they charged at cars on the road, perceiving them as enemies. There was an incident in Mapo-gu, Seoul, where a wild boar collided with a truck, and in Ulsan, an Audi was attacked by 10 wild boars. Despite the owners’ caution, they expressed frustration over damages that happened beyond their control.
In cases where ownerless animals such as wild boars, water deer, or stray dogs damage vehicles, automobile insurance considers it a traffic accident. However, since there is no party to hold liable for compensation in attacks by wild animals, the car owner must use their own comprehensive insurance to cover the damage. Of course, since the accident is not the owner’s fault, using comprehensive insurance will not result in a premium increase.
Netizens who heard Mr. A’s story responded with comments such as "The stray dogs must have chewed, torn, tasted, and enjoyed it," "It seems difficult to get compensation even as a natural disaster," "It’s a sad situation," and "Just bad luck."
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