Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
Deadly car crash in downtown Seoul caused by 'poor driving,' say police
Ryu Jae-hyeok, chief of the Seoul Namdaemun Police Station, speaks during a press briefing, Thursday, on the investigation results of the deadly July 1 car crash near Seoul City Hall that killed nine people. Yonhap
By Lee Hae-rin
Forensic investigation found no mechanical defects in vehicle: police
A deadly car crash near Seoul City Hall in July, which claimed nine lives, was caused by the driver's mistakes, not by a sudden unintended acceleration of the vehicle as contended by the driver, police said, Thursday.
In a press briefing on the month-long investigation into the devastating July 1 crash, Seoul Namdaemun Police Station chief Ryu Jae-hyeok said no defects were found in the driver's Hyundai Genesis G80 sedan.
"Though the suspect is consistently maintaining a claim that it was an accident caused by defects of the vehicle, poor driving control has been confirmed contrary to the suspect’s claim,” Ryu said.
“According to the National Forensic Service’s analysis, no mechanical defects were found in the acceleration and brake systems and the event data recorder (EDR) was operating normally,” he said.
The vehicle reached a maximum speed of 107 kilometers per hour when it hit the pedestrian protection fence, according to a police briefing. The driver, surnamed Cha, reportedly stated that he saw nobody on the sidewalk at the moment of the crash.
“According to an analysis of the EDR, the brakes were not applied from five seconds before the accident until the moment of the accident,” Ryu said.
Also, the CCTV footage and dashcam video provided by nearby vehicles showed that the car’s brake lights were not illuminated, the chief explained.
A man who caused a fatal accident that killed nine near Seoul City Hall, July 1, speaks to reporters before entering the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul's Seocho District, Tuesday, for the court's review on the prosecution's request to issue an arrest warrant for him. Yonhap
Police confirmed that the 68-year-old driver pressed the accelerator rather than the brake pedal at the time. He cited the EDR records and the pattern imprinted on the outsole of his shoe matching that of the accelerator.
“The record of the accelerator showed that the suspect repeatedly ‘stepped on and removed’ (his foot on the accelerator),” Ryu said.
“The suspect has consistently maintained the claim that it was an accident caused by a vehicle defect, arguing the brake became hard and did not function with an unusual sound 7 to 8 meters before the exit of the parking lot (from which he drove the car),” the chief explained.
When asked why he turned the steering wheel toward the sidewalk, Cha said he thought the speed would be reduced by hitting the fence, according to Ryu.
Police referred the case to the prosecution to charge him with negligence resulting in death under the Special Act on Handling of Traffic Accidents.
Cha was formally arrested earlier this week after a court issued an arrest warrant for him.
Fences are installed, July 24, at the site of an accident near City Hall Station where a vehicle crashed into pedestrians, resulting in nine deaths, July 1. Yonhap
At around 9:27 p.m. on July 1, a sedan driven by Cha sped off in the wrong direction up a one-way road for some 200 meters in the typically crowded metropolitan street near Seoul City Hall.
The vehicle hit pedestrians on a sidewalk as they waited to cross the street at a traffic signal near the intersection there. Cha was not under the influence of alcohol according to an initial examination at the time.
The devastating crash killed nine pedestrians, mostly workers from nearby offices, and injured seven others, including Cha and his wife.
Police sent Cha’s Genesis G80 vehicle, its dash cam and EDR to the National Forensic Service for precise identification and evaluation. They also investigated video footage from 12 surveillance cameras and four dash cams collected from around the scene of the accident.