Unlicensed Driver Crashes, Says His Younger Brother Was Driving, Then Confesses Six Days Later [Claiming Falsehoods]

[Financial News] The incident took place at an intersection in Yangju City, Gyeonggi Province. A man in his 30s, identified as A, was driving a Kia Carnival without a license and was in a hurry. He still had a long way to go to his destination, and it was nighttime, so he could not speed.
As a result, he failed to notice that the road narrowed to a single lane after the intersection and changed into the left lane. But that lane was for oncoming traffic, and A had crossed the center line and driven the wrong way.
By the time he realized it, it was already too late. He quickly turned the wheel to get back to his original lane, but he could not avoid the median barrier installed in the middle of the road.

The impact scattered debris across the road,but A left the scene without taking any further action, such as clearing it away.At that point, he was already charged with violating the Road Traffic Act for failing to take action after an accident and for driving without a license.
A still had another problem. Repair costs alone came to about 2.6 million won, and if his unlicensed driving was exposed, it was obvious he would not be able to receive insurance compensation. His solution was to make it look as if his younger brother had caused the accident.
So the day after the crash, through an insurance planner,the accident was reported to the insurer as if the driver had been his younger brother, B,and an insurance claim was filed. Since they had already coordinated their story, B also answered, when the insurer called to verify the report, "I was driving and caused the accident."
But six days later, A changed his mind. He apparently felt uneasy about leaving the accident record under his brother's name. He then contacted the insurer again and"said that I was the one who caused the accident.".

The problem was that the insurance fraud did not simply disappear.They had already filed a false insurance claim, and B had also made a false statement, so the brothers were charged under the Special Act on Prevention of Insurance Fraud. The insurance payout was never actually made, so the case remained at the attempted stage.
The court found that A had caused the accident while driving without a license, left without taking any action, and even filed a false insurance claim to receive compensation, making the offense serious. The panel noted, "He damaged the median barrier and took no action, which also caused other vehicles passing through the area to be damaged," and added, "He even filed a false claim to receive insurance money for this accident."
However, the court also considered favorable factors, including that he disclosed he was the actual driver before the insurance payment was made, the damage was restored, and he admitted the offense and showed remorse.A was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, while B was fined 1 million won.


[email protected] Kim Tae-il Reporter