Prosecutors indict driver in fatal Seoul City Hall crash

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Prosecutors indict driver in fatal Seoul City Hall crash

Published: 20 Aug. 2024, 16:00 Updated: 20 Aug. 2024, 16:01

LIM JEONG-WON
lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr

The driver involved in the fatal car accident near Seoul City Hall that took nine lives on July 1, a 68-year-old man surnamed Cha, walks into Seoul Central District Court on July 30. [NEWS1]

Prosecutors on Tuesday indicted the driver in the fatal car crash that killed nine people near Seoul City Hall on July 1, having earlier conducted three rounds of questioning.

Based on the results of the forensic investigation, the prosecution determined that the cause of the accident was the driver’s faulty operation of the accelerator pedal and that his claim that he had stepped on the brake at the time of the accident was not true.

The driver, surnamed Cha, was indicted on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents. He had previously been taken into custody on pretrial detention on July 30.

Cha had maintained throughout the investigation following the accident that his car had malfunctioned, resulting in sudden unintended acceleration. The National Forensic Service (NFS) determined Cha’s claims to be false based on an analysis of the vehicle.

On July 1, Cha’s Genesis G80 traveled 200 meters (656 feet) in the wrong direction on a one-way road near Seoul City Hall before crashing into sidewalk guardrails, hitting pedestrians and colliding with two other cars. The incident resulted in nine deaths, mostly office workers, and seven injuries.

The NFS found no defects in the car’s accelerator or brake and determined that the Event Data Recorder (EDR) was functioning normally. The EDR showed that the brake was inactive for 0.5 seconds before and during the crash.

The EDR records technical data about the vehicle and its occupants shortly before, during and after a crash.

The prosecution on Tuesday argued that a provision to the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents should be introduced increasing punishment for violations involving multiple casualties.

The current law does not have such a provision, so even in such a case resulting in nine deaths, the statutory sentence would be only five years in prison.

“If the provision on an increased penalty is introduced, it will be possible to impose severe punishment that matches the scale of the damage, the nature of the crime and the public’s sentiment, and people’s basic right to safety can be more thoroughly protected,” an official from the prosecution said.

Regarding the Seoul City Hall case, the prosecution also said that “we will do our utmost so that a sentence commensurate with the crime is handed down, and we will also work to protect the victims and their families, such as guaranteeing the right to make statements during the trial process.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]