'Poor driving' caused car crash near Seoul City Hall that killed 9: police

Seoul Namdaemun Police Station Chief Ryu Jae-hyeok speaks during a press briefing Thursday regarding the investigation results involving the fatal car crash near Seoul City Hall on July 1. (Yonhap)

Police concluded Thursday that the fatal car crash that killed nine people on July 1 near Seoul City Hall was caused by the driver’s poor handling of the vehicle rather than sudden unintended acceleration as claimed by the driver.

The findings were announced as the police ended a monthlong investigation into the accident, where a sedan hit pedestrians on a walkway while traveling at a speed of up to 107 kilometers per hour.

“Though the suspect is consistently maintaining a stance that it was an accident caused by defects of the vehicle, it has been found through further investigation that it was due to poor handling of the vehicle -- contrary to the suspect’s claims,” said Seoul Namdaemun Police Station Chief Ryu Jae-hyeok.

The investigation found no defects were found in the vehicle that caused the accident.

“According to the National Forensic Service’s analysis, no mechanical defects were found in the acceleration and brake systems and the event data recorder was also operating normally,” continued Ryu. “Following an EDR analysis, we found that the brakes had not been applied from five seconds before the accident took place.”

Ryu also mentioned that the 68-year-old driver, surnamed Cha, had repeatedly “stepped on and off” the accelerator rather than the brakes at the time, citing EDR records and a pattern imprinted on the outsoles of Cha’s shoes that matched the accelerator’s.

“From observing security camera footage and black box footage from surrounding cars, the suspect’s brake lights were also not illuminated while being driven,” Ryu added. “The EDR records show that the suspect had only stepped on the brakes after colliding with another vehicle.”

The police on Thursday handed over Cha's case to the prosecutors, Ryu added.

On July 1, Cha's sedan crashed into pedestrians waiting for a traffic light at an intersection near Exit No. 7 of Seoul's City Hall Station in Jung-gu, central Seoul. The car was driving in the wrong direction and crashed into the pedestrians before colliding with two other vehicles. The crash resulted in nine fatalities, with seven others injured.

According to police officials on Thursday, Cha confessed during questioning that he crashed his car into the guardrails near the sidewalks, thinking the impact would slow it down.

Cha was formally arrested Tuesday after a court issued an arrest warrant, citing flight risk. Ahead of his hearing, the 68-year-old driver repeatedly said he was sorry to the victims and the bereaved families.

By Lee Jung-joo(lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com)