Fabricating Accidents for 'Insurance Fraud'... Mass Arrests of Motorcycle Delivery Workers

Crime Committed Using Agency-Owned Motorcycle
Original Scratches Photographed and Submitted to Insurance Company
72 Million KRW Embezzled Over 49 Instances

Motorcycle delivery workers in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province, who fabricated traffic accidents that never occurred and collected tens of millions of won in insurance money, were arrested in large numbers by the police.

On the 17th, the Yongin Eastern Police Station in Gyeonggi announced that it had arrested and sent to prosecution a man in his 20s, Mr. A, on charges of violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud the previous day, and that 24 others, including delivery workers from a delivery agency who conspired with Mr. A, were booked without detention and are under investigation.

Mr. A and others are accused of colluding to report 49 fabricated traffic accidents to insurance companies in the Yongin area over about a year from March last year to March this year, fraudulently obtaining approximately 72 million won in insurance money. They are known to have met while working as delivery workers at a delivery agency or to be seniors and juniors in the local area.

Exterior view of Yongin Dongbu Police Station, Gyeonggi Province [Photo by Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency, Yonhap News]

Mr. A and others committed the crimes using motorcycles owned by the delivery agency. Although no accidents actually occurred, they fabricated all the details and submitted false insurance claims. Mostly, the ringleader Mr. A recruited two motorcycle delivery workers to fabricate accidents, instructed them on how to act, and proceeded with one of them receiving hospital treatment on the day. They received tens of thousands of won in insurance money per false accident claim and shared the money among themselves.

They exploited the fact that insurance company employees do not come to the scene in person and that accident claims can be made over the phone. When the insurance company requested accident evidence photos, Mr. A and others submitted pictures of scratches that had existed on the motorcycles beforehand. According to police investigations, the delivery workers were lured into participating in the crimes by Mr. A’s persuasion that "you can make money easily" and "you just need to visit the hospital on the day."

The police received related intelligence in April and began an investigation, arresting Mr. A earlier this month.

A police official said, "Since delivery motorcycles are usually owned by delivery agencies, even if an accident occurs and insurance money is paid, the delivery workers themselves do not suffer personal losses, which can lead to abuse for insurance fraud. However, insurance fraud is a serious crime that harms the many honest insurance policyholders, and we will make every effort to prevent it."

Article 8 of the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud stipulates that anyone who obtains insurance money through insurance fraud or causes a third party to obtain insurance money shall be punished by imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.