After Collecting Payouts 29 Times, When Insurers Refused... “I’ll Cause a Scene and Make the News” [Filing False Claims]

[Financial News] At an intersection in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, A, in their 30s, was driving a Mercedes-Benz when they spotted an SUV turning left at the intersection. The SUV was about to change lanes from the first lane to the second. A did not slow down. Although the collision could easily have been avoided, the car continued straight ahead. The Mercedes-Benz’s front bumper eventually slammed into the SUV’s passenger-side door.
Immediately after the crash, A asked the SUV driver to file an insurance claim and also notified the insurer A was covered by. The two insurers subsequently paid out more than 10 million won for items including medical expenses, settlement money and repair costs paid without repairs being carried out.
But it was no accidental traffic collision. It was a deliberate act aimed at collecting insurance money.
It was not the first time. The method was simple.The method was to deliberately collide with vehicles changing lanes, targeting the moment the other vehicle crossed the lane line.
A particularly targeted left-turn sections and roundabouts. In one crash, A followed a car turning left from the first lane as it tried to enter the second lane, then struck it. The right-hand lane was clear at the time, so the collision could have been avoided.
In another crash, A crossed into the safety island inside a roundabout, enclosed by a solid yellow line, and hit the other car. In one case, A spotted a car changing lanes to turn right and accelerated instead, causing a crash.
The courtfound A guilty of insurance fraud in a total of 72 incidentsOf these, 29 resulted in insurance payouts.The total amount paid was at least 80 million won. The remaining 43 cases ended as attempts after insurers rejected payment, suspecting the crashes were deliberate.
A’s crimes went beyond simply swindling insurers out of money. Because the deliberate collisions injured other drivers, A was also charged with aggravated bodily injury. The SUV driver, for instance, suffered injuries including a lumbar sprain that required about two weeks of treatment.
A also used violence and threats against people who suspected A of the crimes. After going to the local police station to report a traffic accident and submit dashcam footage, A was asked by the officer in charge whether the crash had been intentional.A shouted in protest and, when asked to leave, struck the police officer in the neck with a hand.
When insurance payments were delayed, A also threatened insurance company employees. A called a claims adjuster at one insurer and said words to the effect of, “I’ll cause trouble today and end up in the news.” A threatened an employee at another insurer, saying, “I’ll bring gasoline and pour it over myself.”
During the trial, A argued that some of the crashes were not intentional. Considering the vehicles’ movements at the time and whether the collisions could have been avoided, the court found A guilty on most counts.
The court sentenced A to two years in prison. The panel noted that A “not only committed the crimes deliberately and repeatedly, but continued even after the investigation was underway,” and criticized them as “crimes that undermine the financial soundness of the insurance system and shift losses onto many innocent policyholders.”

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