Four Ringleaders Taken Into Custody
A group that deliberately staged car accidents to collect 2.3 billion won in insurance money over several years was massively arrested by the police.
A group that deliberately staged car accidents to collect 2.3 billion won in insurance money over several years was mass arrested by the police. The photo shows conversation records secured through a police search. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency
The Criminal Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on November 20 that a total of 182 people were apprehended on charges such as violating the Special Act on Prevention of Insurance Fraud, with four ringleaders of the insurance fraud organization among them being taken into custody.
According to the police, from January 2020 to April this year, the suspects recruited participants in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Chungnam, and Incheon, then deliberately caused traffic accidents to claim insurance payouts.
It was revealed that ringleader A and 50 others intentionally caused traffic accidents in the Geumcheon District of Seoul, fraudulently receiving 995.8 million won in insurance money. Ringleader B and 103 others illicitly obtained 932.2 million won in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, and other areas. Ringleader C and 20 others, as well as ringleader D and 9 others, were also found to have received insurance payouts of around 200 million won each for staged accidents in Cheonan, Chungnam, and the Incheon area. The total scale of the crimes amounts to 2.3 billion won.
The ringleaders recruited accomplices by bringing in acquaintances such as seniors and juniors from their neighborhoods or by using terms like "gg" (slang for attacker/accident-causing vehicle) and "sb" (slang for defender/accident-victim vehicle) in online communities to solicit participants for staged accidents.
The police found that the group collected insurance payouts through several methods: intentionally colliding with vehicles changing lanes or violating road markings; pre-assigning roles to drivers and passengers of the involved vehicles to orchestrate accidents; and falsely claiming insurance for accidents that never occurred.
Additionally, after the staged accidents, they would visit expensive Korean medicine hospitals or remain hospitalized for extended periods even for minor accidents to receive higher settlements. Participants handed over approximately 50 to 80 percent of the insurance money to the ringleaders.
A police official stated, "Insurance fraud is a serious crime that increases the burden of insurance premiums for the public," and emphasized, "We urge people not to be lured by advertisements for high-paying part-time jobs." The official added, "With the law revised, even those who do not directly participate in insurance fraud but simply entice, broker, or advertise such activities can be subject to criminal punishment."
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