On Monday night (July 1st), an emergency official in South Korea stated that a car crashed into pedestrians waiting at traffic lights in the center of Seoul, resulting in at least 9 deaths and 4 injuries.
According to reports from Yonhap News Agency, witnesses described that the driver drove in the opposite direction near the City Hall station, hitting two cars consecutively before mounting the sidewalk and striking pedestrians. Police apprehended the driver on the spot, preliminarily ruling out drunk driving suspicions, while it remains unclear whether drug-driving or driver fatigue are excluded.
The incident occurred at 9:30 p.m. local time on Monday. The police are investigating the incident and warn that the number of casualties may increase.
The driver, a 68-year-old man, caused the accident. Following the incident, the fire department dispatched 37 vehicles and 134 personnel to the scene for rescue and cleanup operations. Traffic police advised vehicles to detour.
Authorities stated that the accident took place at an intersection near Seoul City Hall. The driver arrested at the scene reportedly told the police that the vehicle suddenly accelerated.
In this major accident, 6 people died at the scene, while 3 others succumbed to their injuries later due to their severity.
Emergency rescue official Kim Chun-su mentioned in a briefing that one of the four injured individuals is in critical condition. President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the Minister of Interior and the head of emergency agencies to provide maximum assistance to the victims.
According to a recent OECD report on speed limits on Korean roads, the speed limit on general urban roads in the country is 50 kilometers per hour (31 miles per hour), with a limit of 30 kilometers per hour in residential areas.
The report from the organization indicates that in 2022, pedestrian fatalities in South Korea accounted for 35% of all road deaths, a percentage higher than in other OECD countries. However, the same report emphasizes that road fatalities in South Korea have been decreasing in recent years.
(This article references reports from the Associated Press and the BBC.)