Police mull safety measures, new driver's license system to protect pedestrians in wake of deadly accident

Police are reviewing measures to ensure the safety of pedestrians in the wake of the fatal car crash that took nine lives near Seoul City Hall last week.

Commissioner General of the National Police Agency Yoon Hee-keun speaks during an event at the agency's headquarters on Monday. [NEWS1]

Police are reviewing measures to ensure the safety of pedestrians in the wake of the fatal car crash that took nine lives near Seoul City Hall last week.

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

“This is an area where police need to be heavily involved,” continued Yoon. “Regarding one-way roads, we will expand facilities such as safety signs prohibiting entry and strengthen publicity to raise awareness of such roads.”

The driver in the Seoul City Hall accident on July 1 was driving the wrong way down a one-way road and hit several pedestrians and the guardrails of the sidewalks before crashing into two other vehicles and halting. Nine died, and seven more were injured in the accident.

“Research and development is underway with a deadline of until the end of this year to introduce a conditional driver’s license system regardless of age for high-risk drivers prone to accidents due to a significant decline in physical or cognitive abilities,” said Yoon. “It may look like the system will simply limit by age, but I would like to emphasize that this is not the case at all.”

Meanwhile, the driver in the Seoul City Hall accident, a 68-year-old man surnamed Cha, still needs additional treatment in the hospital, and police will “comprehensively review” whether the accident was caused by sudden unintended acceleration, police said Monday.

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

When asked whether there was a mistake in judgment regarding the arrest warrant applied by police that was dismissed by the courts, the official said that “an arrest warrant is a legal requirement to determine the necessity of arrest” and that “it is not for the investigative agency to judge whether the application for a warrant was ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’”

While the police currently have no plans to apply for an additional arrest warrant, the official said, “We will make a decision based on the progress of the investigation.”

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 external forensic agency for detailed identification and analysis, according to the official.

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

In response to concerns that the reliability of EDR records regarding sudden unintended acceleration could be disputed, the official said that while police are aware of such concerns, “whether the vehicle had in fact made a sudden unintended acceleration will be judged comprehensively, including every factor involved.”

Vehicle analysis from the National Forensic Service usually takes about a month to two months, but since the Seoul City Hall accident was so severe, police have been informed that the analysis on the Genesis G80 is progressing quicker than usual, the official said.

Police will also investigate Cha’s wife, who was riding in the passenger seat at the time of the accident. They previously questioned her on Tuesday, during which she stated that the car's brakes did not seem to work. Cha himself repeated the claim that the car had gone out of control due to sudden unintended acceleration during Thursday's first round of questioning.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]