Police consider safety measures and new driving license system to protect pedestrians after fatal accident

Following the fatal car crash near Seoul City Hall that killed nine people last week, police are reviewing measures to protect pedestrians.

“In consultation with local governments, we are planning a project to reinforce protective fences made of iron or wood in places where there is a high risk of pedestrian accidents and safety must be ensured,” Yoon Hee-keun, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, said during a press conference on Monday.

“This is an area where the police need to be heavily involved,” Yoon continued. “As for one-way streets, we will expand facilities such as safety signs prohibiting entry and increase public relations to raise awareness of these streets.”

The driver of the July 1 Seoul City Hall crash was driving the wrong way on a one-way street and hit several pedestrians and sidewalk guardrails before colliding with two other vehicles and coming to a stop. Nine people died and seven others were injured in the accident.

“By the end of this year, research and development work will be underway to introduce a conditional driver’s license system regardless of age for high-risk drivers who are at risk of accidents due to a significant decline in their physical or cognitive abilities,” Yoon said. “It may seem that the system will be time-limited based on age alone, but I would like to stress that this is not the case at all.”

Meanwhile, the driver of the accident at Seoul City Hall, a 68-year-old man surnamed Cha, is still being treated in hospital. Police will “fully investigate” whether the accident was caused by sudden, unintended acceleration, police said on Monday.

“Cha has broken ribs and blood in his lungs and will not be able to leave the hospital for some time,” a police officer said.

When asked whether the arrest warrant requested by the police and rejected by the courts was an error of judgement, the officer replied: “An arrest warrant is a legal requirement to establish the need for an arrest” and “it is not for the investigating authority to judge whether the application for an arrest warrant was ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.”

Although police currently have no plans to apply for another arrest warrant, the officer said: “We will make a decision based on the progress of the investigation.”

According to the official, police also sent the Genesis G80 vehicle driven by Cha in the accident and the vehicle’s EDR (event data recorder) to the National Forensic Service and a reputable third-party forensic agency for detailed identification and analysis.

“The EDR is also a factor in determining whether the vehicle was defective due to sudden unintended acceleration,” the official said. “The National Forensic Service has mechanical engineering experts who will no doubt conduct a proper analysis.”

In response to concerns that the reliability of the EDR recordings of sudden unintended acceleration could be questioned, the officer stated that while police were aware of such concerns, “whether the vehicle actually made a sudden unintended acceleration will be assessed comprehensively and taking into account all factors involved.”

A vehicle analysis by the National Forensic Service normally takes about one to two months, but due to the severity of the accident at Seoul City Hall, police were informed that the analysis of the Genesis G80 would proceed faster than usual, the official said.

Police will also investigate Cha’s wife, who was in the passenger seat at the time of the accident. She was already questioned on Tuesday, where she said the car’s brakes did not appear to be working. Cha himself repeated the claim during the first round of questioning on Thursday that the car went out of control due to sudden unintended acceleration.

BY LIM JEONG-WON ([email protected])