Exterior of Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul. /Courtesy of News1

A group suspected of intentionally causing traffic accidents to collect hundreds of millions of won in insurance claims has been apprehended by the police.

The Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station announced on the 19th that they have arrested 19 individuals suspected of defrauding 240 million won in insurance money by causing vehicle accidents and then being hospitalized.

The police have detained one person among them, while the other 18 will be sent to the prosecution without custody.

These individuals, who are neighborhood friends, were found to have intentionally caused collision accidents mainly by targeting vehicles that changed lanes from January 2022 to August 2024, in a total of 31 instances. After the accidents, they repeatedly claimed insurance money by being hospitalized.

The police commenced an investigation after receiving a suspicious insurance fraud report from an insurance company. They subsequently confirmed the circumstances of their offenses by analyzing black box footage.