"Targeted Cars Changing Lanes"... More Than 900 Insurance Fraudsters Steal 7.5 Billion Won

2,045 Cases Uncovered and 12 People Detained in Four Months
Deliberately Caused Accidents by Targeting Vehicles Changing Lanes
Recruited Accomplices on Social Media to Defraud Insurers

Police have apprehended more than 900 people suspected of insurance fraud who allegedly stole about 7.5 billion won by deliberately causing traffic accidents or falsifying details of accidents.

The National Office of Investigation at the Korean National Police Agency said Tuesday that a four-month intensive investigation into traffic accident insurance fraud, conducted from June through September, uncovered 2,045 cases and led to the apprehension of 911 people, including 12 who were detained. The total losses confirmed in the investigation amounted to 7,524,620,000 won.

By type of crime, deliberately caused traffic accidents accounted for 76.2% of all cases, or 1,559. The most common method, involving deliberately causing a collision with a vehicle changing lanes, accounted for 600 cases (29.3%). This was followed by falsifying accident details, with 336 cases (16.4%); accidents staged in collusion by the at-fault and injured parties, with 319 cases (15.6%); and so-called "sonmokchigi," in which people deliberately bump their bodies against vehicles, with 209 cases (10.3%).

Many suspects in deliberately caused accidents were in their 20s and 30s. People in their 20s accounted for the largest group, with 263 people (28.9% of all those apprehended), followed by 182 people in their 30s (20.0%). By contrast, people in their 30s and 40s were relatively more likely to be involved in false accident claims involving driver-switching or falsified accident details.

Insurance fraud schemes were also found to be increasingly organized. Investigators found cases in which acquaintances, including people from the same hometown or school, conspired, as well as cases in which participants were recruited from among the general public through social media. The suspects reportedly posted messages online such as "earn money easily" and "short-term, high-paying part-time jobs" to recruit people to take part in insurance fraud.

The National Office of Investigation of the Korean National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyeong.

In one case, 59 people were apprehended in Daegu after allegedly recruiting accomplices through social media and filing false traffic accident claims 60 times between February 2023 and September 2025, stealing about 300 million won in insurance payouts. In the areas around Guri and Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, three people were apprehended for allegedly deliberately colliding with vehicles changing lanes 29 times between March 2023 and May 2025, collecting about 240 million won in insurance payouts. One of the three was detained.

Police plan to maintain year-round enforcement against traffic accident insurance fraud. Under a two-track enforcement system, traffic investigation teams at local police stations will proactively identify suspected insurance fraud while handling ordinary traffic accidents, while traffic crime investigation teams at metropolitan and provincial police agencies will analyze social media recruitment posts and insurance payout cases.

Hong Seokgi, chief of the National Office of Investigation, said, "We will focus our investigative resources on eradicating traffic accident insurance fraud, a serious crime that threatens the safety of people's lives and physical well-being and increases their financial burden." He added, "We will also strengthen measures to protect victims identified through investigations, including revoking administrative penalties and refunding surcharged insurance premiums."

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