A foreigner involved in a drunk hit-and-run was forcibly deported during the investigation… The victims stated, "We didn't know."
It has been revealed that the perpetrator of a drunk hit-and-run accident that occurred in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, an illegally staying foreigner, was forcibly deported during the police investigation.
What is even more shocking is that neither the police conducting the investigation nor the victims injured in the accident were aware of this fact.
According to SBS on the 17th, in April, a 30-year-old Mongolian man, referred to as Mr. A, crashed his car into a truck waiting at a traffic signal in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, injuring two people. Mr. A fled the scene but was apprehended by the police four days later.
The investigation revealed that Mr. A was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident and was confirmed to be an undocumented foreigner whose legal stay had expired. He was thus classified as an illegal resident.
The police continued their investigation after transferring Mr. A to the Hwaseong Foreigners' Protection Center, but he was forcibly deported to his home country of Mongolia less than ten days after the transfer. Neither the police nor the victims, who suffered injuries requiring four weeks of treatment, were aware of this fact.
Victims of the hit-and-run accident face double hardship due to unpaid medical expenses.
One of the victims, identified as Mr. Kim, told SBS, "The insurance coverage that Mr. A had was insufficient for proper treatment." He expressed his difficulties, stating, "I need to receive hospital costs and the payment for my front teeth, which I had treated for 4 million won. I hadn’t heard anything, so when I reached out (to the police) again, I was told that the perpetrator had already been deported."
Later, the police completed their investigation into Mr. A and forwarded it to the prosecution; however, the prosecution processed the case as suspended prosecution due to the fact that Mr. A was not in the country, effectively making it impossible to enforce a sentence.
As a result, the victims lost their opportunity to receive adequate compensation.
The Ministry of Justice, responsible for managing the foreign protection center, only replied that it could not provide specific explanations about the circumstances of Mr. A’s deportation due to personal information.
However, the deportation decision notice obtained by SBS clearly stated that Mr. A was under police investigation for a drunk driving hit-and-run accident.
Even though the police were aware of Mr. A's status as an undocumented resident, they did not take measures to restrict his departure from the country.
The police explained, "It was not a serious case, and the suspect’s custody was secured, so we did not apply for a departure restriction."
Ultimately, due to a lack of communication between the Ministry of Justice and the police, along with inadequate measures, the victims are the only ones suffering.
This situation has raised calls for institutional improvements in the handling of cases involving illegally staying foreigners.
Naver TV 'SBS News'
Image source: Hit-and-run accident scene / SBS, illustrative photo for better understanding of the article / gettyimagesbank
