4 Teens Charged With Staging Traffic Accidents

Four teenagers held their breaths at 5 a.m. Aug. 21 last year in a car parked on the side of a road in Seoul’s Junggok district.

They waited for a vehicle to cross the median. Many cars cross the median there because of other vehicles parked on the side of the one-lane road.

When a taxi crossed the median around 5:20 a.m., the teens quickly started their car and caused a head-on collision with the cab. Hospitalized for sprained necks and other injuries at a nearby orthopedic clinic, they received a cash settlement of 4.28 million won (3,467 U.S. dollars).

Police yesterday said the four teens were arrested after a disproportionate number of juveniles were hospitalized at one hospital in the area.

A number of teenagers are also known to have taken money in return for causing traffic accidents and were assisted by crooked doctors.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency booked 61 juveniles without detention on charges of insurance fraud. They reportedly received around 120 million won (97,205 U.S. dollars) by intentionally causing 46 car accidents from June 2007 to March this year, according to police.

Police said some of the arrested were frequent perpetrators who conducted organized insurance fraud. Three doctors were also charged as accomplices in the scam.

Police said the teens caused accidents with vehicles violating traffic regulations. Two of them intentionally ran their motorcycle into a freight truck driving on the wrong lane July 6 last year. The two teens received a cash settlement of 3.75 million won (3,037 U.S. dollars) after a doctor recommended two weeks of hospitalization.

firedy@donga.com