Police Apply for Arrest Warrant for Jonggak Station Taxi Driver... Includes Drug-Impaired Driving Charge

Morphine Detected in Preliminary Drug Test
Additional Charge of Drug-Impaired Driving

On January 2, during the evening rush hour, police applied for an arrest warrant for a taxi driver suspected of causing a collision in Jongno District, Seoul, which resulted in one fatality.

At around 6:05 PM on the 2nd, two passenger cars and one taxi collided on the road in front of Jonggak Station in Jongno-gu, resulting in one death and 14 injuries. According to the police, an electric taxi driven by a driver in his late 70s crashed into a passenger car, then hit a pedestrian crossing traffic light pole before colliding with another passenger car ahead. Yonhap News

The Seoul Jongno Police Station announced on January 4 that it had applied for an arrest warrant for a man in his late 70s, identified as A, on charges including causing death or injury under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, drug-impaired driving under the Road Traffic Act, and dangerous driving resulting in death or injury under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

At around 6:07 p.m. on January 2, A was driving an electric taxi when, for unknown reasons, he suddenly accelerated, crashed into a pedestrian crossing traffic light pole, and then collided with two passenger cars in succession.

As a result of the accident, 14 people were injured-including pedestrians waiting for the crossing signal, a taxi passenger, and A himself-and a female pedestrian in her 40s was killed. Among the injured, four are foreigners (three Indonesian nationals and one Indian national).

On January 3, police arrested A on charges of causing death or injury under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents. A preliminary drug test detected the presence of morphine, which can also be found in some prescription medications such as cold medicine. The police have additionally charged A with drug-impaired driving under the Road Traffic Act and plan to determine the specific type of drug through a detailed analysis by the National Forensic Service.