Taxi driver who targeted lane changes and wrong-way vehicles to stage crashes and steal 15 million won in insurance payouts

[Financial News] At around 10:05 p.m. on Jan. 15, 2021, a taxi driver in his 60s identified only by his surname Park was driving on a road in Seocho-gu, Seoul, when he spotted a passenger car entering his lane. He did not slow down or steer away. Instead, he rammed into it.
Park made it appear as though the crash had been unavoidable and caused by the other driver’s negligence, prompting an insurance claim. As a result, the insurer paid a total of 3,151,910 won for medical expenses, settlement money and vehicle repair costs for Park and the other driver.
According to the legal community on the 31st, Judge Kim Beom-jin of the Criminal Division 10, Single Bench at the Seoul Southern District Court sentenced Park to six months in prison for two offenses committed in 2021 and one year in prison for two offenses committed in 2024 and 2025, all on charges of violating the Special Act on Prevention of Insurance Fraud. The court, however, found him not guilty in three other crashes charged together with the case.
The court said, "Insurance fraud harms insurers and ultimately shifts the damage onto honest policyholders, creating serious social harm." It added, "Fraud schemes that deliberately cause traffic accidents to collect insurance money are especially egregious."
It also noted, "He has a record of about 20 prior criminal punishments, including prison terms, and committed these offenses without restraint even during a repeat-offense period." The court added, "Even so, he continues to deny the crimes, and no compensation has been made to the victims."
At around 9:08 p.m. on July 30, 2021, Park used the same method again in Jung District, Seoul, targeting a vehicle that was changing lanes and stealing 5,077,660 won in insurance money.
Then, at around 4:01 p.m. on Nov. 10, 2024, in Yongsan District, Seoul, he hit a vehicle that was changing lanes after making a left turn and crossing over a guide line.
An analysis of the digital tachograph in Park’s vehicle showed no meaningful deceleration until just before the crash. He stepped on the brake only one second before impact, and his speed dropped only from 40 km/h to 38 km/h. The accident costs, including medical expenses, settlement money and repair costs for both vehicles, were processed as insurance payouts totaling 3,404,760 won.
Park also collided head-on with a wrong-way vehicle in Songpa-gu, Seoul, at around 12:20 a.m. on March 2 last year.
During police questioning, the other driver said, "I did not see the no-left-turn sign and mistakenly entered the opposite lane. I stopped before entering the intersection, but Park’s vehicle approached with its right turn signal on and honking before hitting me." The driver added, "Park was already at a distance where he could have avoided the crash, so I thought he deliberately kept coming instead of stopping." The driver also testified, "At the time, Park said he had braked after seeing my vehicle, but the brakes were pushed forward because of ABS operation, which caused the collision."
Dashcam footage and DTG data showed that Park had been braking for about seven seconds before the crash and honking about three seconds before impact. Even so, he kept driving without braking the vehicle or avoiding it by moving into the open right lane.
The National Forensic Service also replied that Park had about 2.26 seconds to recognize the danger before the collision and react, but he did not slow down or steer into the adjacent lane, suggesting that he may have intentionally caused the accident.
The insurer did not pay the bodily injury and property damage claims Park filed, but it did cover 3,593,400 won in repair costs for the other vehicle.
For the four crashes in which the court found intent, insurers paid out a combined 15,227,730 won. Of that amount, 6,933,380 won was paid directly to Park.
Prosecutors argued that Park deliberately made contact with other vehicles on Oct. 4, 2022, in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, and on Jan. 17, 2023, and Feb. 27, 2024, in Yangcheon District, Seoul, stealing a total of 11,749,300 won in insurance money. In all three cases, the other vehicle was changing lanes after making a left turn when it collided with Park’s taxi.
In the January 2023 crash, the other driver said, "Both vehicles were moving slowly, so the accident could have been avoided. Because it was a minor crash, my child, who was in the car, did not go to the hospital, but Park received treatment several times, which made me suspect insurance fraud."
In the February 2024 crash, the other driver admitted that he was changing lanes slowly without using a turn signal, but said, "A normal driver would have honked or slowed down, but Park did not stop and instead accelerated and hit me."
The court said the type and circumstances of these crashes were similar to the earlier cases in which intent had been recognized, leaving room to suspect Park’s intent.
However, the dashcam footage alone did not clearly show when Park could have noticed the other vehicle’s lane change or the possibility of a collision. The National Forensic Service also said it could not provide an opinion, noting that the submitted dashcam footage was not the original file, Park’s own vehicle footage was not submitted, and the time between the emergence of danger and the crash was too short.
The court said, "Based on the evidence submitted by prosecutors alone, it is difficult to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Park intentionally caused these traffic accidents." It therefore acquitted him.
[email protected] Park Seong-hyeon Reporter